Stalemate
by Trikki
Summary: Two years after Yami left for the afterlife Yugi is the famous King of Games. But when Yami returns to protect Yugi from an unseen danger will everything be the same as before, even when they have both changed? Of course not. YxYY.
1. Prologue

**STALEMATE**

**Summary: **Yami left for the afterlife two years ago. These days Yugi is the world's best gamer. He remains unbeaten even without his yami and the world of gamers worships him as an idol. However things are about to get complicated. What with Yugi at the peak of his career he is in terrible danger from his restless rivals and from himself. In fact, so great is the danger that Yami has been sent back to protect him, but this time in his own body!

At first the arrangement seems like a wish come true. But nothing is ever as straight forward as it seems. When Yami and Yugi duelled for the last time each of them left as a complete person, a perfect balance of darkness and light, Yami left with a little bit of Yugi and Yugi left with a little bit of Yami. Now that Yugi is more confident and Yami is more compassionate can the two survive without killing each other over? How will Yami cope with Yugi's new attitude now that he's had to harden up in order to survive in the world alone? Will the Pharaoh have enough patience and dedication to save his hikari from hismelf?

More importantly will he have what it takes to stick with Yugi even when their relationship grows more turbulent every day? After all opposties attract but similarities repel...And in all of this what is the real threat? Yugi's enemies threatening his life, his new attitude threatening to send him off the rails or his best friend threatening his title?

**Warnings:** This is a MONSTER of a story...ie its quite chunky as far as words are concerned, so just be aware of that. Secondly this is a **YAOI** (YxYY)story so that'll eventually mean some boy on boy action, if you arn't into that sort of thing I'm sorry but that's what this is. In the future I may be co-erced into writing an alternative non-yaoi version but let me just finish this one first hmm? Oh, and if you don't like yaoi check out 'The Darkest Light' that's an action/adventure that isn't yaoi! See, I do cater for as many people as I can /_winks_/!

Err...what else...oh ok ah, violence, drug, alcohol, rape, self harm references...potentially some steamy bits later on. Basically this is a little bit dark here and there, so watch out for that. Oh, I almost forgot, this isn't beta-ed so any mistakes are entirely my own and I appologise for them in advance, if someone does want to beta then get in touch because I am potentially looking for one...

**Disclaimer:** Unless I'm getting a contract in my stocking this year I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

**Author's Note:** So! Here it is at last! The greatly anticipated 'Stalemate'! I'll just throw you a taster for now, but it'll get much juicier later on! I hope you all enjoy it and for those of you who I've talked with before I especially it meets your expectations, after all its you guys I'm really trying to impress /_winks_/

**-Prologue- **

**My Own Darkness**

Yugi let out a scream. It wasn't really a scream of pain, more of frustration, anger and loneliness. Throwing down the pencil that had just snapped in his hand the young duellist flung himself face down onto his bed and beat the pillows with his fists for a few moments taking out frustration that had been building up inside of him for the last two months. The two months he had been without Yami. The normality of his life was suddenly killing him and the monotony of the days was slowly suffocating him. With Yami everything had been an adventure, they had been the best of friends, supporting each other in everything and talking to each other on every topic imaginable. But now he was alone again. Alone in his head and in his life. Sure Tristan, Joey, Tea and his other friends were still there to support him, but after his friendship with Yami, a relationship that had known no limitations, all of those friendships seemed suddenly superficial.

Then the tears came. He'd been bottling it up inside ever since his best friend had walked through those doors to the afterlife. Somehow he'd managed to make everyone think he was ok. A fake smile and some highly artificial excuses had, horrifyingly, done the trick on the friends and family that were supposed to understand him and know him best. But now he couldn't handle it any longer. It was all too much, something had to give, something had to change.

After a few minutes Yugi finally pulled his face out of the sodden pillow, though he could not bring the tears to a halt. With a sniff and a rub at his still streaming eyes the ex-hikari stood and made his way back to the desk, where he had been before his outburst. On it was a small notebook, open on a page reading '13th September'. He'd kept a diary for years now, ever since his parents had died and he'd moved to live with his grandpa. The series of identical notebooks catalogued every single day of his life since he'd been able to write. Even the days where he had been away, like when the seal of orichalcoas had taken him or when he'd been at the battle city tournament he had always gone back afterwards and faithfully filled in the pages he had skipped.

But now the story of Yugi's life would no longer be complete. It was time something changed and it would all start here. "I've had enough!" Yugi shouted at no one in particular, not caring who heard. "You can't keep haunting me even when you aren't here!" knotting his hands into his hair Yugi pulled at the strands in frustration as he yelled out his thoughts. "You left me, and I sent you away! I'll never let anyone get that close again, you hear me!" Yugi pulled his hands from his hair and glared at the diary in front of him, seizing it up in his hands. "I told everyone I was fine, I didn't expect them to buy it! I wanted someone to comfort me, to help me, to let me cry, but I was betrayed by my own lies!" With an angry scream the teen ripped two pages from the documentation of his life. "Some friends, if they couldn't even see what was happening to me!" Another three pages were torn from the diary and fluttered to the floor. "And you weren't here, when I needed you most! I'll never take you back now, even if you beg, not after what you've done to me!" Five more pages joined those on the floor. "I. Am. My. Own. Darkness!" Paged fluttered down to the floor with each of every word. Day erased forever from Yugi Moto's life. With that he flung the diary down onto the desk and wiped away some more of the angry tears that were streaming down his face. "I am my own darkness." Then, with a deep breath the teenage duellist turned and left his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. It was that day that Yugi Moto changed. He would never be the same again. His separation, the day he unwillingly had the full scale of his independence thrust upon him. Two hours later, when it was starting to get dark, it began to rain, the wind picking up and billowing out the curtains of the bedroom. On the floor the pages of the diary swirled about in miniature hurricanes, rising and falling on air currents gusting in through the window. Up in the air, like Yugi had been. And then the wind direction changed, letting the pages settle on the carpeted floor in disordered piles. On the desk, now the new subject of the wind's taunts, the ravaged diary blew shut with a snap. Closed. Apart from the ragged paper edges that marked the 16th July to the 13th September there was no trace of the two months of hell that Yugi had endured since the loss of his greatest companion. Forgotten. The missing months of Yugi's life. Those that he chose to forget.


	2. Twisted Reality

**Author's Note:** Ok, first things first, I'd like to say a **HUGE** thank you to everyone who reviewed the prologue, it really spurred me on to know that so many people are reading already! Everytime I get a review it makes me smile and thanks to you guys I've been smiling a lot lately. Anyways, lets move on to the chapter. This is the LONGEST chapter so far that I've written out of the buffers, most aren't this long so sorry to raise your hopes, but that interview in the middle takes up a lot of page space that I wouldn't normally fill! Chapter 1 deals with scene setting so not a lot is cracking on, but be careful to read carefully, there are quite a lot of hints dropped in this chapter.../_winks_/ Enjoy!

Chapter 1- Twisted Reality

**TWO YEARS LATER**

Yami was having an odd day. Everything had started off perfectly naturally. He had woken up to the gentle breeze coming in from his bedroom balcony, billowing the soft linen curtains as it went. He had then been dressed and groomed by his shabti so that his hair gleamed and his jewellery sparkled in the morning light. Then there had been an exquisite breakfast prepared by his personal chef, a brief, relaxing game of senet with Mana, a banquet lunch, some duck hunting on the Nile, a feast for dinner and then finally he had rounded off the day with absolute, unmitigated disaster.

He certainly hadn't expected it that much was for sure. The feast had been going beautifully, the food was, as always, excellent and the tables were lined with decanters of beer, plates of sweet, handpicked dates, platters of gently roasted goose, bowls of fresh watermelon and gently steaming wracks of beef. Everyone was happy and in the corner of his vision the court dancers swirled about in beautiful multicoloured scarves, their willowy bodies acting out the tales of ancient gods and heroes in fluid motions. Everything was perfect. Or had been.

_**Flashback**_

_**He had been on his second glass of sweet wine when the doors to the palace hall flew open, a brilliant light suddenly blinding them all and forcing them to close their eyes.**_

"_**All hail," A voice came from somewhere by the door. It sounded distant, ethereal, far away. "All hail the mighty and divine Goddesses Ma'at and Nephthys." Immediately everyone in the room dropped to their knees, Yami included. Although he was a little annoyed about having his party spoiled he knew better than to directly disobey a God in their own territory. After a long silence a voice finally spoke.**_

"**Rise Atemu son of Gods." The voice was odd and sent chills down Atemu's spine. It sounded like many people speaking at once, like a female chorus but with all the same voice. Slowly Atemu rose to his feet, still blinded by the light. "Child," The Goddess, Atemu wasn't sure which, continued, "We come here this day to offer you a choice." Atemu tensed a little, another? Had he not already gained his entrance to the afterlife? Why was he still bothered by the Gods when he had already done so much? "I sense your worries my son," The divine being continued, "And I wish to allay them. I, Ma-at, Goddess of earthly balance, have seen what is to come and as a reward for your service unto mankind I wished to offer you a choice dear beloved son of heaven." Atemu tensed a little more, what was she saying? And what had she seen in the future? "Atemu, I shall share with you what I have forseen, but I warn you that it may not cause you pleasure." Atemu sighed deeply in thought. Did he really want to see? If he did what was he going to do about it? Leave the afterlife again? How?**

"_**As Goddess for protection of the dead I am here to guide and defend you son Atemu." Another divine voice spoke up, that of Nephthys. "If you do not wish to see it is in my power to make sure that you will not." Atemu swallowed and let his eyelids flutter a little only to get blinded once again.**_

"_**Yes." He said at last. "I wish to see." There was silence for a moment and then finally a response.**_

"_**And so you shall dear son, you shall."**_

_#Ma'at vision through Yami's eyes#_

_The warehouse was cold and empty. Outside rain poured down on the corregated iron roof making a drumming sound in what would have been an otherwise ominous silence. Slowly Atemu looked around in the darkness of the enormous storage room._

"_Hello?" He asked the silence, his voice echoing around him. "Is anyone here?" There was no reply. Slowly he made his way towards a door at the other end of the warehouse. He couldn't have been more than half way there when he heard the noise. A clattering banging noise. Atemu's head snapped to the source of the noise just in time to see a body tumble down the metal stairs from the warehouse's platform and hit the concrete floor at the bottom with a bone-crunching thud. "Hello?!" Atemu cried out, but there was still no sound. Quickly he ran across to the stairs but didn't get there in time. He had only managed to get a little way there when a door opened at the top of the stairs and more people filed out of it._

"_Lets get this over with then." One of them sighed, his breathy words echoing in the empty room. "The sooner the better." Atemu noticed that they were heading for the crumpled figure at the bottom of the stairs and started to run again._

"_Shame really, talented guy, but couldn't be helped." One of the other men shrugged, "Moral solidity always seems to cause the end of our clients."_

_Not caring anymore if they noticed him Atemu jogged over to the bottom of the stairs, though he knew he wouldn't make it in time. The men were already there, heaving up the body of their victim and dragging him over to the wall nearby._

"_String him up then." The first man sighed lazily, waving a hand for the other two to do it. Immediately they complied, pulling the roughed up man's arms above his head and locking them into a pair of cuffs, causing him to stand on his toes. Yet still the victim did not raise his head and Atemu was too far away to make out a face, though he was gaining on them all the time. "Ok boys, a bit of play, final bit of persuasion." Immediately the other two men started hammering their fists into their victim, hung up from the wall, defenceless. Atemu's blood boiled._

"_Hey!" He cried as he increased his pace. "Leave that man alone!!" But the men did not reply! "Can't you hear me?" He yelled angrily, but still there was no response. The victim continued to be abused by the fists and then feet of his tormentors. He seemed to flinch a little with each blow, but Atemu could tell the man's fighting spirit was gone. "Leave him alone!" Atemu commanded, finally coming to stop just behind the men doing the tormenting. He could see now that the figure had a bag slipped over their head and his anger flared once more. No human being deserved to be treated this way. "Get off!" With that Atemu launched himself forwards onto the one of the men…only to fall straight through him. It all clicked. But of course, this was a view of the future; there was nothing he could do. The anger inside of the ex-Pharaoh turned instead to remorse and sorrow._

_The beating continued and Atemu frowned, but could not tear his eyes away. Somehow he knew that watching this was important. He knew somewhere inside that he had to remember this event. Finally the punishment stopped._

"_So," The man who was evidently in charge began, "Changed your mind?" The figure groaned a little but made no other response. The leader let out a sigh. "Fine." He turned to the others and nodded, "You know what to do." They both nodded and the leader left. Panic and helplessness started to rise in Atemu's chest. Surely he couldn't just watch this? But what else could he possibly do? One of the two men smiled and reached into his jacket, a moment later pulling out an ominously glinting handgun._

"_Time to say goodbye." He grinned and then aimed up._

"_No!" Atemu cried his eyes wide. But there was nothing he could do. A second later the shot rang out in the warehouse and the body that had been cuffed to the wall fell limp, bloodied wrists no longer straining in their refines._

"_Lets go." The second man smiled and immediately they left. Just leaving the body to hang on the wall. Atemu let a tear drip down his face. There was nothing he hated more than to see the torment of innocents. It had been his life's work to prevent things like this from happening._

"_Why?" Atemu yelled angrily to no one in particular. "Why did I need to see this?" As if implanted there as an answer to his question his mind suddenly registered a solution 'Take off the bag' it whispered to him._

_Slowly Atemu moved forward to remove the bag from the man's head and give him dignity in death. On reaching him he noticed how thin and mangled the poor man's wrists were, he had obviously been enduring this sort of torture for quite some time before he had been put out of his misery. Gently laying a hand on one of the man's wrists Atemu found that he could touch him and sighed sadly. Slowly he moved to take off the bag, slipping it forward over the man's head. As soon as he had revealed the face he dropped the bag like he'd been burned._

"_No." He gasped, horror coursing through his body and freezing him on the spot. "No…please…anything but…" The man revealed was blind folded and gagged, his skin pale, dirty and dusted with abrasions and bruises. But that was not what had horrified Yami so much, what made him so scared that he found he felt he couldn't even breathe. "Gods…no…" Atemu sobbed once again, falling to his knees in front of the dead body strung from the warehouse wall. "Yugi…"_

_#End Ma'at's vision seen through Yami's Eyes#_

_**Atemu felt himself thrown back into his body with a start, once again being quickly reminded to close his eyes due to the bright lights given off by the Gods. It had all just been a vision. But a vision of what was to come…that was Yugi's future…Atemu couldn't stop the few tears that rolled over his cheeks, but he did try.**_

"**Beloved." Ma'at's voice spoke once more. "This is the future that I have seen. Had we not seen fit to bless you with the choice we are about to hand you, then that would be the definite future." Atemu swallowed the lump in his throat. He would never be able to forget that image. Never. "But as Gods we choose to show you compassion, son of the divinities."**

"_**We wish to extend to you a chance to change that which you have seen." Nephthys continued after Ma'at. "If you wish to alter the course of the future then we will be willing to let you do so, in payment for your services to us. We will, should you wish, return you to earth in a body of your own, in your own image and with the powers that you have always possessed. Now that you have seen what is to become you wield the tools to alter it." Atemu sniffed a little and then stood straight again, as a Pharaoh would hold himself.**_

"_**I accept your offer majesties." He replied, "I would do anything to change that which I have seen and prevent it from occurring." There was another silence and Atemu felt nerves build a little in his chest.**_

"_**Then so it is done." The Goddesses responded as one, their light dimming for just a moment. Taking the opportunity Atemu cracked open an eye and gasped as darkness began to encircle him, squeezing him, but not painfully. Slowly the lights from the Goddesses became dim through the screen of shadows that had pulled itself around him form. From pure light to darkness. It took mere seconds then the purity of the afterlife was gone, replaced by shadow. No longer Atemu. He was Yami again.**_

_**End Flashback**_

That had been two hours ago. And since then a surprising little had happened. It turned out that the Gods had lived up to their promise, almost immediately after his agreement Yami had found himself standing in an alley just off one of Domino city's main roads in his own body with all of his memories in tact and his shadow powers to boot. Shortly afterward he had set off on his mission; to find Yugi and protect him from his potential future, and it seemed that the Gods were all for giving him a nudge in the right direction. Having ripped the already torn poster from the alley wall Yami had began to make his way to the stadium advertised. An hour later and he had arrived. An hour after that and he was still trying to work out a way to get in without a ticket. All around him fans bustled about excitedly, queuing up to get into the arena. Yami strained to think. How was he going to get in? A moment later an idea appeared in his mind. Yugi would kill him if he saw him doing this, but he wasn't a Yami for nothing. After a little 'gentle persuasion' Yami finally found himself not only in line with a ticket, but toward the front of the line too. The guard didn't question his appearance and Yami smiled dryly at that, obviously a lot of Yugi look a-likes came by at these sorts of events.

The atmosphere was immense. The stadium had never been so full, so full of life, so full of excitement, so full of people. On the doors fans poured in, tickets flying through the hands of the guards like wild fire, excited smiles whipping past them as face after face made their way to seats. Second row down on the left, nineteenth row down to the right, the stands were filling up fast. The tickets for the grand event had been expensive to begin with, after all this was set to be a one off experience, but the prices for a seat in that stadium at that time had sky rocketed within minutes of sale. It was actually a record for the stadium box office, within two minutes of the tickets being put on sale every last one had been snapped up and independent dealers had sold many on at higher prices over the next few days. On the Internet bid wars had occurred left right and centre world wide, just for a chance to see him there. Just to taste the atmosphere that he created. Just to feel the magic. Just to see him Duel.

On stepping into the stadium Yami felt pride swell in his chest. Yugi had really gone and made something of himself if all of these people had come to see him duel. With a smile on his face Yami glanced down at his ticket. 62F. For a moment he was foxed, having never been to a theatre or stadium with Yugi before he wasn't quite sure how these things worked, but after spotting the combination '56A' on a seat nearby he started it figure it out.

"I have a lot of walking to do."

-----

Underneath the bustling stadium everything was quiet. In the dressing rooms calmness and serenity reigned. There were no bright colours, just relaxing creams and beiges, no noise, just gentle jazz music drifting through the air moodily. The carpet was a pleasant plush brown and dim lighting softened the corners as if to make them hardly appear as corners at all. In the centre of the room there sat a large cream sofa in front of a coffee table; and on the large cream sofa, the man of the moment, the most famous gamer on the planet. Yugi Moto. Yugi Moto, a large cappuccino and his famous duel monsters deck to be precise. He'd been setting out his deck for the last hour now, ever since he'd arrived at the stadium. His manager, Mike, always allowed him some spare time before a duel, after all he needed Yugi to win, if he lost then his public image would be shattered.

With a sigh Yugi sipped at his coffee and lifted Kuriboh back into his duel deck with long, elegant fingers. These days he rarely got anxious before a match. It wasn't that he was so big headed, but mainly that over time he had managed to school his nerves into bending to his will. Mike regularly joked that Yugi had once been a professional worrier, but these day he was as cool as ice, his composure in place 100 percent.

"Mr Moto?" A knock sounded on the door and Yugi dropped his head to his chest before raising it again to answer.

"Yes, come in." He replied as cheerily as he could, he hated being disturbed. The door opened and a large blonde man in a suit walked in. The man was practically a walking wall of muscle and many would have run away at the sight of him, but over time Yugi had come to treat the man with the same cold façade with which he faced off everything that scared him.

"You need to go up to the platform sir." The bodyguard said in such a way that made it sound more like a commmand than a request.

"Yes alright Alex, I'll be there momentarily." Yugi looked down at his deck again and then to the door where Alex was stood.  
"Very good sir." Alex replied and then left, closing the door behind him.

Yugi ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. He was tired, but there was little to be done about that, after all he had a tight schedule to run. He had to do this match, so many people had paid to see it and he couldn't back out. All he had to do was put on a show, throw in some flashy hand movements, some yells of card names and shouts of 'attack'. He always pulled it back at the end of the duel, that was in itself his strategy. It worked perfectly, his fans thought he was always snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, adding drama, injecting some heat, but secretly, somewhere in the back of his mind, Yugi lusted for a challenge. He hadn't really been stretched to breaking point to anyone since…Finishing off his cappuccino Yugi stood, tucking his deck into the holder on his belt. All he had to do was put on a show, pretend this was difficult, and make it look like he hadn't outgrown them. Flash, that's all it was, nothing to be worried about, all just another type of showbiz,

"Well Moto." Yugi whispered to himself, looking in the mirror at his trademark crown of hair and bright purple eyes. Eyes that people the world over went mad for day in day out. "It's show time."

------

Up in the stands Yami couldn't help but frown. Yugi had annoying fans. Behind him there was a rowdy group of duellists who, he had gathered from their yelling, were from Sapporo and knew 'all of Yugi's greatest moves' better than anyone else. In front of him there was a family, a Mum, Dad and two brothers, who were arguing about which one would grow up to be king of games. Yami scrunched up his face in a moment of annoyance but relaxed a moment later, placing his composure back where it belonged. However he was about to get more sorely tested than he could have ever imagined. Enter the fan girls.

Imogen, Carrie, Sophia and Leanne screamed. They had all been saving up for months to get tickets to one of Yugi Moto's duels and finally there they were, in the stands, closer to the real thing than they had ever been before. Bustling up to their seat each of them was buzzing with hyperactivity, each adjusting their miniskirt just in case, and every single one of them flushed with a girlish daydream of being picked specifically out of the crowd by the sexist single of the year.

"I can't believe you got tickets!" Imogen squeaked as she pushed past people on the row to get to her seat.

"I know!" Carrie grinned, "Am I the best best friend ever or what?"

"Definitely the best!" Sophia laughed happily, "We're actually here!"

Yami rolled his eyes as four squealing girls pushed past him to get to their seats on the other side of him. He couldn't stand superficiality and here it was, sat next to him in the form of four hormonally charged teenagers lusting after what had previously been the other half of his soul. It was kind of disconcerting.

"But also a golden opportunity…" Yami whispered to himself and then turned to address the girl nearest to him, who happened to be Leanne. "Pardon me," He began, "I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about Yugi…you see I love duelling but I don't know much about the man himself…I figured you girls would probably know more than me…" Immediately Leanne's eyes lit up as if she saw an opportunity to impress someone with her 'Yugiology' skills.

"Well," Leanna started, "His birthday is June 4th, he's a Gemini, he has fantastic amethyst eyes, he's a real gentleman, he was born in Domino, his parents died when he was five and he has lived with his grandfather ever since. His grandfather runs the Kame Game Shop, which is now enormously popular as I'm sure you can imagine…" Leanne paused there and then dug a hand into her pocket. "In fact, look at this…" She shoved a scrap of paper into Yami's hand, "Good job on the dressing up by the way! You look pretty like him!" She smiled and then turned to talk to her friends. Yami looked down to the scrap of paper now in his hand.

"An article?" Yami said to no one in particular and then began to read.

**++ARTICLE++**

_'Teenage millionaire, company patron, twice winner of the "Sexiest single of the year award" and undisputed King of Games, Yugi Moto is truly a remarkable young man. In just a few years the teen managed to explode out of no-where to take the gaming world by storm. Yet to loose a match, the attractively humble icon has set a hard target to beat, but still duellists and gamers the world over never give up, and Yugi never gives up winning. A few days ago we managed to get a rare interview with the teenage heart throb and asked him a few of the questions you wish you could have asked him yourself:_

_**Interviewer**: So Mr Moto,_

_**Yugi Moto**: Please, call me Yugi,_

_**Interviewe**r: (Giggles) All right then, Yugi, how does it make you feel to be considered the hottest single for not only this year, but last year as well?_

_**Yugi**: (Laughs) It doesn't really make me feel any different to be honest, I'm flattered of course, but I'm just a person like everyone else and even I wake up some mornings and think 'I'm ugly today'_

_**Interviewer**: Really? What with all of the praise you get I wouldn't have expected that,_

_**Yugi**: Oh yeah, but everyone has those sort of days don't they?_

_**Interviewer**: (Laughs) Yes, yes I guess they do. Does that mean you get nervous like other guys as well?_

_**Yugi**: of course! I'm not different to other teenagers, I get nervous around a person I have a crush on and I get scared about asking people to dance._

_**Interviewer**: You're so down to earth even when you're so famous! How do you manage it?_

_**Yugi**: I just try not to change, just because people recognise you on the street doesn't mean you become a different person over night._

_**Interviewer**: Interesting, you'd be surprised how many people do...But lets talk about the really interesting stuff,_

_**Yugi**: (Grins) Should I be scared?_

_**Interviewer**: We'll see! Ok, first off where was your first kiss, what was it like and who was it with?_

_**Yugi**: (Laughs) That's unfair, you can't ask that of me._

_**Interviewer**: Why not?_

_**Yugi**: I ah...I couldn't kiss and tell, even if it was a while ago._

_**Interviewer**: (Surprised) Really? Most men can't help but brag about their erm..._

_**Yugi**: (Blanches) Previous conquests?_

_**Interviewer**: Yeah...(giggles) something like that. But are you sure you can't tell us? It wasn't with Tea Gardner was it?_

_**Yugi**: (Blushes even more and looks a bit ashamed, we wonder why...) No! I've never had a relationship with Tea, we're just friends. _

_**Interviewer**: Really...?_

_**Yugi**: Yes! Really!! Please..._

_**Interviewer**: Sorry...on the subject of romance, what's your ideal woman?_

_**Yugi**: (Blushing again and looking a bit uncomfortable, we love it when he does that!) Well, they'd have to be a bit different, individual. Intelligent, funny, cute and honest are towards the top of my list. I kind of like dark hair over blondes too..._

_**Interviewer**: You know girls the world over are now running off to be brunettes..._

_**Yugi**: (Laughs) I hope not, I like people with natural hair colours, dying can look a bit tacky. Anyway, I wouldn't not date a person just because they were blonde; I'm not that shallow..._

_**Interviewer**: And for that we are happy! So, ideal date?_

_**Yugi**: Ah, well I'm a bit of a romantic... (Interviewer sighs) So...something meaningful, and fun, I mean there's no point going out with someone if there isn't any fun in it..._

_**Interviewer**: I'm with you on that one. So, what have you spent all of your earnings on?_

_**Yugi**: Err...well I bought some things for my friends..._

_**Interviewer**: Nothing for yourself?_

_**Yugi**: Well no, not really, there wasn't anything more I wanted than to duel with the best, fall in love, be with my friends and family and be happy, money can't buy that._

_**Interviewer**: Wow...deep stuff!_

_**Yugi**: (Laughing) I guess I'm a deep guy._

_(Door opens and a bodyguard comes in)_

_**Body Guard**: Mr Moto, I'm sorry but we have to be moving now._

_**Yugi**: I'm really sorry guys, but I have a photo shoot in a few hours and I need to catch a plane..._

_**Interviewer**: One of Kaiba Corps's jets?_

_**Yugi**: (With laughter, standing up) No, this one is mine._

_**Interviewer**: So you did buy something for yourself!_

_**Yugi**: No, my agent got it covered in publicity fees._

_**Interviewer**: Sweet!_

_**Yugi**: (Laughing and showing us that front page smile of his) Yeah, I guess!_

_**Interviewer**: Ok, one last thing before you go...I don't suppose you would ever tell us the answer to the question would you?_

_**Yugi**: (A little puzzled) Which question?_

_**Interviewer**: The question fans the world over are dying to know the answer to! Who is the secret lover you let slip all those years ago at the beginning of your career._

**Yugi**: (Looking uncomfortable) You know I can't tell you that, and I regret ever mentioning it.

_**Interviewer**: The public just wants to know if your heart is still open! Speculation is running riot on the Internet you know!_

_**Yugi**: Well, I'm still single (With a small smile) and these days I'm told I'm looking..._

_**Interviewer**: Really?!_

_**Yugi**: Yeah, (winks, most the females in the room break into a sweat) Right, I really have to go, it's been a pleasure._

**Interviewer**: Well, thanks for coming Yugi it's been fun talking to you. (Yugi leans in and gives her a peck on the cheek. We all consequently swoon)

_**Yugi**: Don't worry, any time.'_

**++END ARTICLE++**

Yami frowned a little as he finished reading the article. That didn't really sound like Yugi at all. It did a little, but not much. Biting his lip the ancient spirit searched over the scrap of an article for a picture but found none. Yugi was eighteen or nineteen now and would surely have changed. Suddenly Yami wondered if they still looked as alike as they once had. Had Yugi changed all that much?

------

The king of games sucked in a deep breath and laid a hand on his cards strapped to his belt. 'Here we go again.' He steadied himself, 'Go defend your title Moto.'

"Up in 5, 4, 3, 2…" From somewhere nearby Yugi could hear the floor manager counting him down to his entrance. Now that he was out of his dressing room he could hear the crowd roaring and adrenaline was starting to become apparent in his system, readying himself Yugi stood up straighter, held his head high and clicked his fingers for one last time before… "1, 0, Mr Moto, you're on!"

-----

Yami watched interestedly as the doors at either end of the arena opened. It was, after all, what he had been waiting patiently for.

"And now!" A voice boomed from speakers all around the stadium. "The moment you've all been waiting for!" Yami smiled a little at that. "The duel of the year, the ultimate show down! But first lets introduce the players! First up the challenger, British champion and current Western hemisphere league title winner, James Paisley!" Yami smiled slightly as a dark haired teen walked onto his side of the duel arena amid cheers. He was an attractive young man with a killer smile and bright blue eyes, but there was something superficial about him that Yami couldn't quite put his finger on. Perhaps it was just that he was famous. "And now…his opponent!" Immediately silence fell over the stadium, excitement was thick in the air and even Yami felt his normally calm heart pick up a few beats. "8 times winner of the quarterly eastern cup, twice champion of the eastern hemisphere league title, winner of the battle city tournament and defending world champion! Ladies and gentlemen lets hear your appreciation for the King of Games, Yugi Moto!" Immediately the stadium exploded into life. The noise was deafening, banners could be seen dotting the arena, lights flashed and people strained their eyes to get their own little touch of stardom.

Somewhere seemingly miles away from where Yami was sat in the stands a figure walked onto the stage at his end of the duel arena. He was quite short, though taller than he had been a few years ago, his face was made up of perfect angles and although his jaw was manly in its definition he was all softness in appearance. His dark purple eyes crackled with determination, adrenaline and a sort of mischievousness that made women's hearts stop in their chests. His build was slim but toned and though he was no means muscular it could hardly be said that there was an inch of fat on him. Everything about him had been perfectly taken care of; his hair, in its trade mark style, was vibrant and shimmering with not a single strand out of place, his skin was clear and peachy, his clothes were hand selected by the best fashion minds in the business and every single item bore a designer label, not only for appearances sake but for advertising profits. A red Calvin Klein t-shirt, dark Armani jeans, red and white Alexander McQueen sneakers, a simple surfer style necklace made for him specially and ordered from New Zealand and then to finish it off two leather belts slung across his hips in a 'devil may care' kind of way.

Yami squinted to get a look at Yugi and growled angrily as people in front of him stood on their seats with the same aim. He could tell Yugi had changed even from this distance, after all, he had girls chasing after him left right and centre and he'd never had that problem before. But Yami didn't really care what his ex-hikari looked like, what he did care about was whether he was alright and what he was involved in. After all, the future he had seen couldn't have come entirely out of nowhere. Was Yugi in dodgy business? Was he being blackmailed? Yami grit his teeth and sat down angrily, giving up on catching a look at his friend. He would do anything to help Yugi…if he could even get to him these days.

---------

The duel was over in six moves. Yugi won. With a final wave to his public the king of games stepped out of sight and let out a sigh. There would be autographs to do no doubt, probably photographs, definitely interviews…

"Alright Mr Moto." One of his personal assistants rushed up to him almost as soon as he'd stepped out of the arena. "The fans are leaving now, in about twenty minutes we need you to get moving back to the hotel for the interviews, in the meantime we've informed the press that you'll be leaving through the northern exit, so when you leave be sure to stop for the photographs." Yugi sighed. "Oh and Kaiba corp. called, they said that they want you to endorse the new disks on Friday 3rd next month and that Mr Kaiba and yourself can settle a price on arrival."

"But I already filled the advertisement quota for Kaiba this year." Yugi groaned tiredly, extra endorsements were exactly what he didn't need right now.

"I would suppose that's why Mr Kaiba has offered to settle the matter personally. I've already fitted it into your schedule sir, it isn't a problem." The assistant smiled annoyingly and Yugi resisted rolling his eyes.

"What have I lost then?"

"Well it was marked down as ah…'FT' I don't know exactly what that means…" Yugi groaned and nodded, that was his calendar code for free time.

"Alright, twenty minutes, gotcha, come and get me then."

"Yes sir!" The assistant sped away and Yugi made a dash for his dressing room, dodging various officials who needed to tell him 'something important'.

On arriving the teen shut the door as quickly as he could and slid down to the floor against the wall, his head in his hands. It felt like he hadn't slept in months, his head pounded and all that went around in his brain was lists of things he was meant to be doing. He'd managed to accidentally miss both breakfast and lunch that day due to various photo shoots and now it felt like his head was about to explode.

"I need an aspirin." He groaned to himself, eyes pinched closed and a hand knotted into his hair.

"Well don't look at me." A familiar voice spoke up from elsewhere in the dressing room, a dressing room that was supposed to be empty. "I'm probably the only person in the country who doesn't worship you."

**...To be Continued...**

**Review Section (Because I love you guys XD )**

**Yami Yuugi: **First off it's nice to see you again! If you like bitter and sad Yugi there's quite a lot of that coming soon. He's really got an attitude on him in this one! Plus he's no where near as innocent as he once was! Anyways I'm glad you liked the prologue and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story to come!

**Cactus Bob: **/_Blushes_/ I'm flattered! I'm really glad you enjoy my writting and I'm especially glad to be able to know that you think so! Don't worry about typos by the way, you are by no means the only person who makes tohse /_winks_/ At least you blame them on your glasses! I just have to admit that I'm a clumsy typist lol! Now then, crazy Yugi! Actually, he isn't so much crazy in this story as completely gone off the rails...(wait for chapter three, I LOVE Yugi in that one!!) And yes, Yugi is MUCH darker in this, after all he has to compensate for Yami's darkness in his life now/_Munches on toad in the hole_/ Yay for traditional British food and dark Yugi!

**Mike Sorano: **I intend to carry on with it, and I hope you intend to keep reading! Thanks for your review by the way, very much appreciated and I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far!

**Spicey Babe: **My wish is your command and so here is a chapter to tide you over! Don't say I don't listen to my reviewers hmm/_Winks_/

**Arion Girl:** Hello again! Glad that you're enjoying this! Thanks for reviewing! As to whether or not you could write stories like mine, you wouldn't want to! Write like yourself and just let your imagination go, everyone writes differently because writting is a reflection of how a person see's the world around them, you see a different world to me so we'd never write in a similar way /winks/ write what you know! (Here's a secret! Almost every place that I describe Yami or Yugi in, I've been to before!)

**Masami Mistress of Fire: **Masami-chan/_Glomps/ _I'm really glad you liked the prologue and I hope that you like this one as much!! Nice to see you around again!

**Coco Gash Niccals:** Lol, still with Ieb are you! I may never get him back poor guy/_Waves to Ieb_/ He's in sort of...goodish...hands though, so that's fine!! Unfortunately in this story I haven't got a OC villan for you to play with! All canons here! Oh well, I'm sure Ieb wouldn't mind another story with you now would you Ieb sweetie?

**Shearo14:** I'm glad you like it! I hope you carry on reading! Here's an update for you as requested!!

**dragonlady222:** Do you still think Yugi'll take him back in an instant? Loosing Yami did rough him up pretty bad...Anyways, I'm glad you like the idea, I've got another plot bunny growing somewhere at the back of my brain as we speak, but I'll finish this one off first!

**DarkandDaisuke:** GAH! DNAngel fan!!! I love that show/manga! Err...yeah...anways...I'm glad you like the story so far and if you're waiting for Yami and Yugi interactions (rather explosive ones at that!) there are plenty of those coming up later on! Looking forward to your future reviews/_winks_/

**Mizuumi13: **Wahay! The sneakpeak worked then did it? Lovely! Well, here it is and since you liked it I'll give you one for the next chapter at the bottom. See, I do listen to you guys lol! Glad you liked!

Ok then, since Mizuumi liked the sneakpeak (as did a few of you) I'll give you chapter preview as well:

Chapter 2- Game Start (Preview)

"So much has changed, I have a lot to show you." Yugi opened another conversation and shot Yami a smile in the mirror that looked like it had been ripped straight off the front page of 'Cosmopolitan'.

"I noticed." Yami replied, "You've really made something of yourself, I'm proud of you." Yugi smiled again, the same meticulously practised expression, but this time turned to look directly at his ex-darkness.

"Thanks." It seemed he was about to continue when there was a knock on the door. "Oh ah…hang on a moment!" Yugi looked to Yami and then to the enormous cupboard on the opposite wall. Yami got the hint and moved quickly to conceal himself. When Yugi thought that Yami was suitably hidden he spoke again, "Come in."

"Mr Moto?" The door opened to reveal Alex once again, still dressed in his neatly pressed black suit. "Its time to leave." Yugi nodded and then frowned a little,

"Ah, Alex?"

"Yes Mr Moto?"

"Can you send in Reona?" The bodyguard nodded and bowed himself out of the dressing room. "Ok Yami, coast is clear." A rather disgruntled looking Pharaoh peered out from the cupboard.

"Why do I have to hide?" Yami asked after straightening his clothes a little.

"Because they'd wonder how you got here and also wonder who you were, how am I supposed to explain having a strange man in my room alone with me?" Yami frowned,

"I'm not strange."

"Of course, 5,000 year old Pharaohs returned from the afterlife to protect their previous soul partners from unforeseeable events are perfectly normal, in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you opened that cupboard right now and found you'd been hiding out with at least a dozen that are kept in there for special occasions."

"Alright." Yami conceded, "I see your point."

"Good, now lets get you out of here."


	3. Game Start

**Author's Note:** Yaaay! Thanks for all of your reviews again, at this rate I may even beat the review rate on Darkest Light!! Anyways, in other important news bulletins, I'm going to be away for four days! I was going to post this up later (I wanted 11 reviews lol!) but I figured I couldn't leave you hanging for four days so.../_shrugs_/ here it is! Oh er...I know this is much shorter, this is more like the regular chapter length. For those of you who bother to read this (thanks by the way!) the average chapter in this ranges between 6-7 pages in size 12 Times New Roman (The last chappie was 10 pages!) So there you go. Anyways, enjoy cold, distant Yugi and flumoxed Yami!!

Chapter 2- Game Start

Slowly Yugi raised his head. There was a figure opposite him, perched on the coffee table where only an hour ago Yugi had been laying out his deck. It was a person he had never expected to see again, that he had shed many tears over and had once respected like nobody else.

"Y…Yami?" Yugi asked hesitantly as he picked himself up off the floor. He couldn't help his face rearranging itself into a confused frown as he gazed at his ex-darkness, he had thought that they would never see each other again, and yet, there he was.

"Yes, it's me." Yami replied with a small smile at Yugi's look of utter confusion. "I'll explain everything in a moment, but first I think you should sit down before you fall down." Yugi nodded slowly and made his way shakily to the sofa so that he could stare at Yami more comfortably.

"How can you be…?"

"Shhh…" Yami reassured, "Just take some deep breaths alright? Let me do the talking." Yugi nodded again and swallowed shallowly. Was it true? Could this really be Yami? Or was this all an elaborate farce? "Now then, listen closely, I have been sent back to the afterlife in order to protect you, I don't really know why…" Yami glided smoothly over the white lie, "But I know that they wouldn't have done it without reason. I don't know how long I am allowed to be here for but until I am called back I'm here with you again aibou." Yugi nodded slowly, in an odd way that only made sense in Yugi's life, the explanation was sort of mundane.

"So it's really you…" Yugi repeated again and then it clicked. This was Yami. The person that he had sworn he would never give a second chance. The person who had destroyed the essence of who had been! Was he supposed to talk to him as if nothing had happened? But of course Yami didn't know that anything _had_ happened…"But wait…" Yugi took a deep breath and contained himself. He could sort out the emotional baggage later, always later. "How did you get in?"

"I just acted confident, didn't speak and pretended to be you." Yami replied with a shrug as he moved to sit next to Yugi.

"Smooth." Yugi replied with a smile that looked deceptively realistic, "Anyway, we have a lot of catching up to do, why don't you come back to the hotel with me, I can get you a room at a moments notice." Yami frowned a fraction and then nodded,

"Yes, I'd like that." He replied and was thankful that Yugi hadn't noticed his hesitation.

"Good." The teenage king of games looked at his watch. "Oh…drat." He sighed, "I'd better get ready." In a flash Yugi was away from the coffee table and at the mirror with a comb in hand, his façade back in place, no longer vulnerable as he had been moments ago.

Yami watched as Yugi meticulously worked on his appearance. Hair first, a comb, little bit of gel to accentuate the points, a little bit of rearranging. Next the face, a check was all it really took there. The clothes also received a once over, the shoes a brush down. All in all after five minutes, to Yami's eyes, Yugi looked almost exactly the same as he had before. Or did he? Acting as a spectator and now closer to Yugi than he had been in the stadium Yami couldn't help but notices the differences about Yugi. He'd grown up, radiated confidence and a certain roguish charm. His appearance was still soft but now he glowed with attitude, as if there was a sort of deeper level to him, that the famous, charming gamer wasn't all that he was and that he would happily invite you to find out what lay beneath if you thought you could handle it.

"So much has changed, I have a lot to show you." Yugi opened another conversation and shot Yami a smile in the mirror that looked like it had been ripped straight off the front page of 'Cosmopolitan'.

"I noticed." Yami replied, "You've really made something of yourself, I'm proud of you." Yugi smiled again, the same meticulously practised expression, but this time turned to look directly at his ex-darkness.

"Thanks." It seemed he was about to continue when there was a knock on the door. "Oh ah…hang on a moment!" Yugi looked to Yami and then to the enormous cupboard on the opposite wall. Yami got the hint and moved quickly to conceal himself. When Yugi thought that Yami was suitably hidden he spoke again, "Come in."

"Mr Moto?" The door opened to reveal Alex once again, still dressed in his neatly pressed black suit. "Its time to leave." Yugi nodded and then frowned a little,

"Ah, Alex?"

"Yes Mr Moto?"

"Can you send in Reona?" The bodyguard nodded and bowed himself out of the dressing room. "Ok Yami, coast is clear." A rather disgruntled looking Pharaoh peered out from the cupboard.

"Why do I have to hide?" Yami asked after straightening his clothes a little.

"Because they'd wonder how you got here and also wonder who you were, how am I supposed to explain having a strange man in my room alone with me?" Yami frowned,

"I'm not strange."

"Of course, 5,000 year old Pharaohs returned from the afterlife to protect their previous soul partners from unforeseeable events are perfectly normal, in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you opened that cupboard right now and found you'd been hiding out with at least a dozen that are kept in there for special occasions."

"Alright." Yami conceded, "I see your point."

"Good, now lets get you out of here."

-----

Reona was Yugi's favourite personal assistant. Technically she was on loan from Kaiba corp. but Yugi had pretty much bought her over. She never asked for explanations, was ruthlessly efficient and also, miraculously sensitive to boot. But those weren't her only merits, she was highly influential, severely career orientated, almost obscenely organised and to add to it she was on call 24 hours a day everyday. All in all Yugi found her completely indispensable and her salary echoed that sentiment.

"You asked for me?" Reona asked as she walked into the underground lobby that the arena kept for small press conferences. Yugi nodded and smiled.

"Yes, Reona, this is Yami." He nodded to Yami who was sat next to him looking rather cold. "And Yami this is Reona, my wonderful personal assistant."

"Thank you." Reona replied with a smile, "And it's a pleasure to meet you Mr Yami." Neither Yugi nor his ex-darkness moved to correct her. "Now then, may I ask what it is that you called me for?" Yugi nodded and laced his hands in his lap.

"Yami is an old friend of mine and I want to catch up with him for old times sake. However I don't want to take him out the front way…"

"Understood." Reona nodded and adjusted her glasses, brushing a strand of dark hair from her face. "I'll have a car brought and we will meet you at the hotel." Yugi smiled in appreciation.

"Thanks Reona, I don't know what I'd do without you." Yami stood and Reona smiled at him, gesturing for him to make his way out of the lobby.

"I do." The personal assistant smiled and began to walk after Yami, "You'd die."

-------

You could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. Though there was chatter to break it to some extent but even so the feeling over the crowd was electric. Every single person in the crowd had their eyes glued to the double doors of the stadium, waiting for them to open with bated breath. In reality they had only waited 20 minutes (though some of the press had been waiting for over 2 hours) but it seemed like an eternity. That was until it actually happened.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the press." One of the bodyguards stepped forwards and shouted his announcement as two other people behind him opened the doors. "Mr Yugi Moto!"

Yugi took in a deep breath and rearranged his features into a sexy smile and forced an aloof sparkle into his eyes. Then, with the flair of a practiced starlet, Yugi made his way out of the doors. Immediately flashes were going off everywhere, cries of 'Mr Moto, over here', 'Yugi this way!' and 'Yugi for the Daily Domino!' were everywhere, however he'd handled this before and quickly breezed by, stopping to smile for the cameras for only a few seconds before moving on. Next were the fans.

"Yugi!" A few girls screamed, "Please can I have your autograph!"

"Yugi, will you sign my card?"

"Yugi, I'm your biggest fan!"

"I named my cat after you!"

"I have every product you ever advertised!"

"Can I have a kiss?" However the teenage King of Games dealt with the fans in a very similar way to the press, only stopping to sign a dozen or so autographs, giving a girl a kiss on the cheek and winking at a few groups of supporters. However the crowd seemed happy with that.

The car was waiting at the end of the carpet, a nice, stereotypical black limo. Yami sat tensely in the large car and gazed out of the blacked out windows in amazement as Yugi swanned down the carpet. That wasn't the boy that he had left for the afterlife. He watched as his once shy aibou paused for the cameras and shot them a smile that sang of confidence and he raised an eyebrow a little when he winked at the crowds. This definitely was no longer Yugi. A lot had changed.

The Pharaoh was knocked out of his reverie by and explosion of sound, and it was then that he noticed the door of the limo opening.

"Yugi, we love you!" Girls screamed as the pro-duellist stooped to enter the vehicle with a final wave. "Yugi, don't go!" And then the door closed, the silence returning.

"Phew," The younger boy sighed as he leant back into his seat, "And now I get to waste time at the hotel for the rest of the afternoon and talk to you!"

"Indeed…" Yami replied, though his voice no longer held the vitality that it had before. He knew Yugi was still the same person inside, but could they really talk like they were still old friends? 'We have to.' Yami mentally corrected himself, 'I'm here to save his life, we have to talk.'

"Is something wrong Yami?" Yugi asked from the other side of the limo as he poured himself a glass of sparkling alpine spring water from the mini bar next to him.

"Ah…no." Yami replied with a smile that lacked its normal spark. "Nothing at all."

-----

The hotel was as grand as could be expected and the rooms were no different. On entering the master suit that Yugi's agent had booked for him Yami was immediately reminded of the afterlife palace he had forsaken to be there. Although the styles of decoration, Japanese and Egyptian, were very different there was still the same air of carefree decadence in both places, obviously Yugi made more money than he had let on in his interview.

"Make yourself at home," Yugi gestured to a sofa as kicked off his shoes by the door. "I always try to." Yami nodded and sat down, still a little unsure of himself, but regaining his confidence rapidly. "Now then," Yugi walked over and sat in a chair opposite him, the picture of relaxation. "Lets catch up, how was…ah…the afterlife?"

"Beautiful." Yami replied, relaxing a little now that he was on home ground as far as the conversation was concerned. "It was exactly like Egypt when I left it, the sounds in the reeds, the sand beneath my feet, the sound of the markets in the morning and the rooms of alabaster in the palace…" Yami stopped himself, realising that he was running away a little, however Yugi didn't seem to mind, instead having a rueful smile on his face.

"You miss it don't you?" He asked quietly.

"Yes," Yami admitted, "But obviously my reason for being here far outbalances that." The ex-Pharaoh waited for a typically Yugi-like apology or expression of gratitude, but it did not come. Another sign of the changes his aibou had undergone. "How have you been?" Yami continued, "You seem to have done well for yourself…"

"Well…yes…" Yugi replied in his typically humble way, but the blush to make the expression appear genuine was conspicuously absent. "Originally I was doing ok, going on tour and stuff but the real money comes from the product endorsements and advertising. These days I'm with Kaiba Corp." Yami nodded again,

"So, how's the game shop?"

"Oh, fine. Its really successful these days, gave Duke a run for his money. Grandpa was thrilled." Yugi paused there and Yami's heart sank a little. "When he ah…passed away…I signed a merger with Duke so these days I own half of 'dungeon dice monsters' and he owns half of the 'Kame Game Shop' name." Yami swallowed. Grandpa was dead? Yugi didn't even seem that upset to talk about it…had he missed that much?

"Yugi I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be." Yugi replied almost sharply, "It's in the past." Yami frowned a fraction at that but Yugi either missed it or ignored it.

"What happened to the others…Joey, Tristan, Tea…?" Was Yugi even still friends with them, or had fame really gone to his head like Yami was beginning to expect that it had.

"These days Joey works at the duel academy, it isn't fully fledged yet but he's getting in there and helping gel things together. Tea went to America to study dance I don't really know what she's doing with herself aside from that…Tristan is in higher education…I can't remember what exactly he's doing…could be economics or business." Yugi paused there and then continued, "Ryou works at the game shop, he's regional manager for Domino I think and he coaches in his spare time, Malik is in Egypt with Ishizu, Mokuba is due to inherit his share in Kaiba Corp. within the next year or so and Mai got what she wanted, married well, a client of mine actually, owns a quarter of the stadiums and sports teams in Japan or something trivial like that." Yami nodded listening to Yugi real off the locations of their old friends. Had Yugi not kept in touch with any of them? Why? Why was Yugi so unfazed by his last relative's death? How was he so cool about seeing his Yami again?

"Interesting…" Yami nodded as he spoke to show that he really thought it was. However Yugi no longer seemed to be listening, instead looking out of the window to the darkening sky. Time had flown and neither of them had noticed, so wrapped up in their own thoughts had they been.

"Do you still have a deck?" Yugi asked at last. Yami blinked. He hadn't thought of that. Slowly he lowered a hand to his side and was surprised to find his pocket bulging slightly with cards.

"Yes…" Yami replied quietly, "Why?"

"I just wondered." Yugi replied with a shrug, turning back to Yami, a smile firmly back in place. "Look it's getting late, I'll get you a room for the night and then perhaps you could come around with me tomorrow...? Or you could stay here if you like?" Yami stood up and nodded,

"I'd like to go with you." He affirmed, "Are you sure getting a room isn't too much hassle?"

"None at all." Yugi replied and reached for the phone. "None at all." He was tapping in a number when he stopped and pressed the button to cancel the call. "You know what?" Yugi said, turning back to look at Yami, "I've changed my mind, I fancy going out tonight. Do you want to come?" Yami swallowed, in reality there wasn't really anything he wanted less, but he had to go wherever Yugi went in order to protect him so he didn't have much of a choice.

"Yes." He lied.

"Good," Yugi lied back and stood, "I'll get changed and meet you in the lobby, if you need any clothes or anything just ask one of the assistants that will no doubt be floating about in the hall ready to pounce." The young game champion waved his hand carelessly and then began to browse through one of the cupboards. Yami stood, taking that as a queue to leave. Yugi had changed so much and Yami needed time to re-evaluate himself. However much his ex-hikari had changed he still wouldn't wish a death on him like he had seen…but where had that charming innocence gone? Was it really the fame, or something more sinister that he didn't know about?

"I'll meet you downstairs aib…" The word died on his lips. Somehow, it no longer seemed relevant.

**Reviewer's Section**

**dragonlady222:** The interview was the taster I gave you at the end of 'Darkest Light' so yes, you have read it before! Glad you like it by the way, I've never done an interview style before...types up much faster lol! Anyways, hang in there to prove or disprove your Yami and Yugi theory, I'll catch you in future chapters!!

**Yami Yuugi: **Oh, if you like bitter Yugi chapter 3 is a kicker!! (It's my favourite so far and I can't wait to show it to you all!! It was soooo much fun to write!!) Anways, yes, the last chapter was a monster! But if you read the author's note you'll find that it is also a bit of a freak chapter as well...poor thing.../_pets it_/

**Mizumi13:** Lol, finally someone who appreciates my very own off colour brand of humour/_Hugs one liners_/ Anyways, I'm glad you liked the preview, and since you reviewed again I'll give you another...also...I LOVE THE NEXT CHAPTER!! Hem...anyways...er...yeah lol

**Cactus Bob:** Aww...feel the love XD ! Now then, regarding your love of dark Yugi...definately chapter 3 for that one...big style...homicidal Yugi...maybe a little tint of that in... /checks/ chapter 4... suicidal Yugi... haven't written that far ahead yet, but don't give up hope yet lol. Moving on, yes, Toad in Hole is a British thing, except if you look it up on google you'll find that its very different to what you would know it as! Personally I prefer the idea of yours better! Next topic, pesto on spaghetti! Yumm...seriously...yum...I am a huge fan of anything with pasta in it! Thanks for the review! Catch you later! (P.S my birthday is 13th May! And I appreciate your integrety as regards my identity XD!)

**Azurelle:** First off, pretty pen name by the way! Is that your real name? Now then, post series fics...no...admittedly there doens't seem to be a lot of them out there does there, I'm glad you like this one then! And if the summary got you to read this then it did its job properly!!

**Psycho Kage Suma:** Hey! Nice to see you again! Glad you like this fic so far and hope to hear from you again in the future!!

**Masami Mistress of Fire:** That's right, you'd better update soon! Some of us are dying here!! Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter, in the case that you're interested there are LOTS of hints dropped in this one too (mostly in the way Yugi is acting!) See you next chapter!!

**Coco Gash Niccals:** Lol/_steals some chocolate milk_/ No, unfortunately there are no original characters here what so ever (apart from small side characters!) And I bet you'll never guess who the bad guy is!! As for Ieb, don't worry sweetie, I'm sure you'll be happy commenting on how evil Yugi is through out the various chapters. You'd be proud of him in some of them!!

**Mike Sorano: **Again, thanks for the review, nice to see you coming back for more!! I'm glad you like the chapter and I hope you liked this one as well!!

**Tia Evans: **Yay! Thanks for your review, glad you are enjoying it so far! You're just in time for my favourite bit so far too!!

Sighs Oh well, I'll see you all in four days! I hope you can wait that long lol! Until then here's a preview to tide you over...or push you over as the case may be XD

Chapter 3- Secret Suicide (Preview)

Yami was fazing out. The atmosphere was too much for him. The smell of sweat, sex and alcohol was overwhelming. Why would Yugi choose to spend his time here when he had all the money in the world? Had he really changed so much that he would enjoy a place like this? Yami was of the opinion that it was the most disgusting place he had ever been.

"And then, he decided that…" Yugi chattered happily to Yami, but Yami wasn't listening. Instead he was watching all of the human scum of the earth that plagued the dance floor, those of them who weren't drunk or easy were high and in a morbid sort of way it fascinated him. At least Yugi wasn't quite at that stage. "I'll have a slow comfortable screw against the wall thanks." Yami blinked and snapped his head around to look at Yugi when he said that, had that really just come out of his friend's mouth?! The barmaid grinned predatorily as she heard the teenage star's drink request,

"You know honey, for cute guys that request comes with extras, you want 'em?" Yami's heart slowed as he looked at Yugi more closely. His friend's eyes were slightly unfocussed and wild looking as if he wasn't all there, something was horribly wrong. Was Yugi…drunk?

"Sure, couldn't hurt." Yugi smiled with that sexy front cover smile, though it didn't have all the charm that it normally did. With Yugi in the condition that he was it seemed a little…unhinged. With that, the attractive, busty barmaid walked around the edge of the bar, spun Yugi on his barstool and promptly pressed her lips up against his own. Yami's jaw dropped and his horror only increased when Yugi responded to the kiss by pressing back against her, trailing his arms down to the woman's waist and adding some tongue to the deal.

"Time to leave." Yami said to himself, jumped off his barstool and grabbed Yugi's wrist, rather violently pulling his friend away from the woman who was taking advantage of him. "Definitely time to leave."


	4. NOTE: Explanation

I'm sorry, this isn't a new chapter but it is just an explanation. I felt I owed you all one and I'm sorry it was so slow coming, as I explain you will, hopefully, understand why.

I haven't recently posted anything up because I have been very ill. I'd rather not disclose with what but it has meant that I've been in and out of hospital for the last few months. Obviously in that time writting has been hard and I've been mentally very tired. DO NOT think that this story is over or that I'm giving up on you all, because I am not. Simply by writting this note I'm taking steps in the right direction. This will become a finished story, just, for now, I am unable to make it so. I hope that you all understand and I'm sorry to try your patience for even longer, but hang in there, I promise that this story is only going to get better!

Thank you for all of your support,

Trikki


	5. Secret Suicide

**Author's Note:** First off thanks to all of you for your patience and I was really moved by your interest in this story. So **thank you** for that, it really motivated me to start writing again. My writing pace is still slow so** updates will be not as fast as normal** but at least you're getting some right? I hope you guys like this chapter, it's a real firecracker and one of my personal favourites! Think of it as half of your Christmas present for those of you that celebrate! Oh, another important note is that from here on in **this story will be rated as 'M' for safety**. This is for a number of reasons:

1) The amount of explicit violence in this story is going to increase a little in coming chapters

2) I will shortly be developing Yami and Yugi's relationship and this may take the form of some slightly dirty thoughts lol

3) I don't really want to take people by surprise or expose anyone to anything above their threshhold. I will be including warning at the head of each chapter from this one forward but even so I don't want to be responsible for too many people getting shaken up.

Ok, that's it. So, thanks again for your support and dig into this chapter, 'Secret Suicide'.

**Warnings: **Alcohol abuse, yaoi, interesting use of adjectives, sexual situations and passing drugs reference (you'd have to read closely to find it!) If any of these things make you uncomfortable I would suggest now that you cease to read onward. I will not be held responsible for any actions ensuing from the below and jump to remind everyone that **this is fiction** and not real life. So don't drink, do drugs or have casual sex folks! Clean fun rocks!

Chapter 3- Secret Suicide

Twenty minutes later Yugi appeared in the lobby. He was no longer dressed in his red t-shirt and jeans but now sported an outfit rather more like his previous choices of clothing; a black t-shirt, dark jeans, the two belts he always used to wear, a leather jacket and trainers. When Yami looked up to see him he could have almost fooled himself into thinking it was the same Yugi as he had known two years ago…almost.

"Alright then," Yugi said as he approached, "Lets…"

"Oi!" Yugi was cut off by a shout behind them, immediately Yami was on alert as three men in black suits ran toward them. On reaching them two immediately seized Yugi's arms tightly, one on either side and the other eyed Yami suspiciously. The Pharaoh felt himself tense a little, although Yugi had changed he still couldn't bare to see him hurt and it was obvious that the grip on his arms was not all that loose from the look on the teen's face. But something in Yami had changed. Where he might once have leapt up and dispatched with the men immediately his compassion now pulled him back. What if these men where Yugi's friends or innocents? So, rather than acting out, instead he made a mental note to watch the men in future.

"Bodyguards to the rescue." The largest of three men commented dryly, "Who's this guy?" The blonde bodyguard Alex, asked, nodding to Yami.

"He's an old friend of mine." Yugi ground out, and at that moment Yami had an epiphany. Seeing Yugi held by his own bodyguards and having to explain his actions to one of his own employees suddenly put everything into harsh perspective for the Pharaoh. Yugi was trapped by his own success, he couldn't even go out with a friend without being followed and interrogated.

"I see…what's your name?" Yami frowned and then replied,

"Yami, and who might you be?"

"My name is Alex and I am Mr Moto's head bodyguard." The man practically growled, "And next time it would be nice to know that you're entertaining sir," The man commented to his smaller employer who was still restrained between the other two men, "It makes my job easier."

"I'm not here to make your job easy." Yugi snapped, "Otherwise I wouldn't pay you as much as I do."

"Whatever," Alex replied disrespectfully, "Anyway, where you going tonight?"

"Out." Yugi replied angrily. "What's it to you?"

"Well if you get run over or stabbed I loose my job." Alex smiled but it wasn't a pleasant expression, it was pretty evident that aside from his career he couldn't care less for the well being of his client. "Carl, Andy, you'll go with Mr Moto wherever it is that he's going. You'll watch him like a hawk and you'll ignore him if he tells you to leave." Yugi growled but said nothing, he was well aware that protesting was useless.

"Yes sir," The two men either side of Yugi replied, letting go of Yugi's arms at long last.

"Great." Alex smiled again, "Have a nice night Mr Moto." He clapped his smaller employer on the shoulder sending him staggering slightly, then left up the stairs to his hotel room.

"Lets go." Yugi looked at Yami and sighed, walking onto the street outside the hotel without a second glance.

-----

Inficio was more than exclusive. The queues for the club often stood for over two hours without moving an inch and the entrance fees were infamously extortionate. The club had opened a year previously and had been turning over more money than the average bank branch ever since. Some said that it was popular for the music, some said it was popular because of the people who went there and others would slyly comment that the shady activities that took place there probably had a little something to do with it. Either way the place was a breeding ground of unrestrained decadence, hot with the lust, greed and jealousy that bred there. Alcohol flowed like water, drugs passed hands like peanuts at a bar, one-night-stands were a given as were the hangovers that inevitably accompanied a visit to the club. In short Yami didn't like it.

They had gotten into the club easily, which was testament to Yugi's fame and popularity…and perhaps the pushiness of his bodyguards. However Yugi had insisted that Andy and Carl waited for him outside and, stupidly, they agreed, fearing for their jobs. Obviously Alex had a few lessons to teach them about being bullies. As per usual Inficio was absolutely packed, the dance floor hardly had a spare inch on it and the tables set back in the shadows were also pretty full up. Taking Yami's wrist Yugi had led his old friend to the bar and had hopped up onto a bar stool with, what Yami had noticed with a sad pang, seemed to be a practised grace.

"What do you want?" Yugi yelled over the music. Yami frowned a little and shrugged, he didn't really know anything about this kind of culture. When he and Yugi had been bonded his aibou had never been exposed to this sort of thing so Yami hadn't been either. "Alright," Yugi said more quietly to himself and flagged the barman who came over to him rapidly, knowing his face. "Two margaritas," Yugi shouted over the music and the barman nodded coming back a moment later with the two drinks, a pen and a bar glass. Yugi nodded knowing what he meant and took the pen, signing the glass for him. The man smiled and then moved on to the next order. "Drink up!" Yugi shouted to Yami, pushing the glass to his friend. Yami nodded and, to be polite lifted his glass and took a sip. Immediately he coughed and his eyes watered a little. Having only ever drunk beer before, as that was all that had been available in Egyptian times, Yami was knocked backwards by the strength of the tequila. 'Who drinks this stuff for enjoyment?!' Yami mentally screamed, however he was about to get an answer. On looking up his eyes widened in horror, Yugi's glass was already empty. It was the story of the evening.

-----

Yami was fazing out. The atmosphere was too much for him. The smell of sweat, sex and alcohol was overwhelming. Why would Yugi choose to spend his time here when he had all the money in the world? Had he really changed so much that he would enjoy a place like this? Yami was of the opinion that it was the most disgusting place he had ever been.

"And then, he decided that…" Yugi chattered happily to Yami, but Yami wasn't listening. Instead he was watching all of the human scum of the earth that plagued the dance floor, those of them who weren't drunk or easy were high and in a morbid sort of way it fascinated him. At least Yugi wasn't quite at that stage. "I'll have a long comfortable screw against the wall thanks." Yami blinked and snapped his head around to look at Yugi when he said that, had that really just come out of his friend's mouth?! The barmaid grinned predatorily as she heard the teenage star's drink request,

"You know honey, for cute guys that request comes with extras, you want 'em?" Yami's heart slowed as he looked at Yugi more closely. His friend's eyes were slightly unfocussed and wild looking as if he wasn't all there, something was horribly wrong. Was Yugi…drunk?

"Sure, couldn't hurt." Yugi smiled with that sexy front cover smile, though it didn't have all the charm that it normally did. With Yugi in the condition that he was it seemed a little…unhinged. With that, the attractive, busty barmaid walked around the edge of the bar, spun Yugi on his barstool and promptly pressed her lips up against his own. Yami's jaw dropped and his horror only increased when Yugi responded to the kiss by pressing back against her, trailing his arms down to the woman's waist and adding some tongue to the deal.

"Time to leave." Yami said to himself, jumped off his barstool and grabbed Yugi's wrist, rather violently pulling his friend away from the woman who was taking advantage of him. "Definitely time to leave." Under Yami's steam the two rapidly left the club and propelled themselves back out onto the street. Yugi however was a little indignant.

"What was that for?" Yugi asked irritatedly, "I was only having some fun!"

"You are drunk." Yami replied matter-of-factly.

"So what!?" Yugi yelled and Yami stepped back a little, seeing the drunken madness stirring in Yugi's amethyst eyes, now darker than normal from liquor. "So what if I'm drunk? Who cares? It's my life and I'll do what I want with it!"

"Yugi, you're not thinking straight…" Yami tried to reason, however he was saved.

"Forget it." The voice of Carl came from behind him as he rounded Yami and grabbed Yugi roughly. Immediately Yugi began to struggle like a mad thing.

"Stop it!" Yami cried out. Watching Yugi so distressed tugged at him and he couldn't bare it. "You'll hurt him!"

"Not as much as he'll hurt himself," Andy spoke up, coming to help Carl restrain his employer more effectively. "His blind to reason when he's like this, can get into all sorts of trouble." Yami frowned a touch as he heard that, but was snapped out of his thoughts when Yugi began shouting again,

"Let go of me! I'll have you fired! Let go, let go!" He screamed like a banshee.

"Lets go," Andy said to Carl, ignoring Yami completely. "And lets hope he'll shut up."

"I won't!" Yugi screamed, "Get off me! Get off me!"

-----

Yami sat quietly across the room from the bed. On the luxury four-poster bed a small figure slept fitfully, tossing and turning in between the sheets. Eventually they had managed to subdue the drunken teen only for him to work himself into a state of drunken depression. Sleep had been a blessing for all of them. However Yami had been unable to rest. The night had depressed and…scared…him. He wouldn't admit it to anyone but what he had seen that evening had genuinely terrified him. Nothing scared him more than the idea of loosing Yugi, but that night he had seen it, Yugi was already lost. He was killing himself and no one was noticing. He had talked to Andy and Carl a little on the way back to the hotel. This was a regular thing, sometimes he even passed out, or so Andy had told him. Carl had described a time when they'd missed him going out of a back exit and had found him three hours later back at the hotel, clothes ripped and dirty with bite marks on his shoulders and neck. Yami couldn't even imagine what would push his hikari into the hell where he was living. Ma'at had not shown him this. She had shown him a Yugi tormented by others. A simple glance over to the bed would show him a very different sort of torment, one that he might not be able to protect Yugi from.

With a deep sigh Yami dropped his head into his hands. It had been a long night and he had a lot of thinking to do. Yugi would be sober tomorrow and then perhaps they could talk about it, though for the first time in his life Yami wasn't sure that he was strong enough…or brave enough.

---------

Yugi was up early the next morning. His head throbbed but today it wasn't due to sleep deprivation. There was barely a day that went by when he didn't have a headache and it hadn't taken long for him to learn the difference between different types of pain. This was a hangover.

Slowly the teenage gamer sat in bed so as not to aggravate his headache but he didn't have much luck. The rapidly swinging room was a good indication. The curtains were still closed so it was dark in the room but a few meters away Yugi could vaguely make out a shape. A Yami sort of shape. Then it all came rushing back to him. Of course, Yami had seen it all, his ruin of a life laid bare. How would he play this one now? He couldn't act like nothing had changed; it was obvious that things had. Could he protest that he hadn't meant to get drunk? But the club pretty much ruled that out. 'Shower.' Yugi thought to himself. He always had his best ideas in the shower. Very slowly Yugi pulled himself out from the sheets and, with a hand on the wall to support his still shaky legs, made his way to the luxury marble ensuite that the hotel room provided. Showers always cleared his head.

-------

Yami woke slowly. In some ways he wasn't sure that he wanted to wake at all. Today was the day he'd have to tackle Yugi about the night before and he was looking forward to it about as much as a bite from a cobra. A look over to the bed revealed that Yugi was no longer in bed and for a second Yami's heart leapt in his chest. He jumped up and flung open the heavy hotel curtains, throwing light out into the room. It was then that he heard the shower running from the bathroom connected. The Pharaoh let out a relieved sigh. Everything was all right, or at least as all right as it had been before.

The shower chose that moment to turn off as Yami sat himself back down on the edge of the bed, a few seconds later the door of the bathroom opened and the sound of the light being pulled off was heard.

"Morning Yami!" Yugi said brightly as he stepped out of the bathroom, slightly flushed from the heat with a fluffy white towel wrapped around his slim hips. Yami's eyes widened a touch and he blushed, however Yugi didn't seem to notice and instead went about choosing an outfit for the day. Yami swallowed the lump in his throat. When had Yugi suddenly become so…confident? The hikari he had known would have died before showing his chest off to anyone so shy was he, but yet here he was, moving about with his flawless porcelain skin, lithe muscles and slim, well-sculpted legs exposed. Yami's eyes widened even more as he abruptly stopped his thoughts in their tracks. Where had _that_ come from? Had he really just thought that? "Yami…are you alright?" Yugi asked as he turned to his ex-darkness with a mild look of concern on his face. "You're rather red…do you want me to put the air con on?" Yami shook his head vehemently,

"No, no I'm fine…I…can I borrow some clothes?" He asked finally, "I don't actually have any…"

"Sure," Yugi nodded, "Just raid the cupboard, I'll be out in a minute." Yugi walked back into the bathroom to change and Yami let out a sigh. That alcohol must really have hit him hard the night before for it still to be affecting his mind. Mentally Yami made a note never to drink anything more alcoholic than beer ever again.

----------

Half an hour later both Yami and Yugi were dressed and ready. Yugi hadn't really bothered as much as he normally would have done but had explained that he was doing a photo shoot so there wasn't really much point. To Yami's surprise the car had already been waiting for them when they reached the lobby,

"We'll get breakfast somewhere good later," Yugi had promised, "Though I'm afraid it's all go today so it might end up being a sort of brunch with some desert thrown in to make up for last night's lack of dinner…" It was Yugi's turn to blush, "Sorry, my life's a little up in the air these days." Yami remained silent, there was little to be said about that comment.

It was getting on to 10:00am by the time that they reached the studio. As they were driving Yami had watched Yugi closely. He had spent quite a bit of the journey on a rather flashy and expensive looking cell phone, but the times that he hadn't Yami had noticed something rather alarming. The long looks out of the window, the sighs, the fiddling, long silences, lip-biting…Yugi was nervous.

"Are you alright Yugi?" Yami asked, no longer able to bear watching the boy opposite in distress. Yugi's head snapped up at the question and Yami could almost see the smile being settled perfectly into place.

"Yes of course, just a little tired, headache." He laughed but it was a hollow sound with no mirth in it. Yami let it drop. 'I really need to talk to him' He mentally urged himself, 'Before he really does kill himself.'

The studio was a rather unexciting looking building, white on the inside and white on the outside. Almost as soon as the car door had opened Yugi had been swamped by a group of people, stylists, personal assistants, publicists, hairdressers, image consultants and photographers. One moment he was there and the next, out of sight. For a minute or two Yami had sat a little like a lemon in the car unsure of what to do, but luckily he had been saved by Reona once again.

"Come on Mr Yami," She smiled, "I'll get you a front row seat."

"Just Yami please…" Yami had corrected as he followed her through white corridors to another, larger white room.

"Of course Mr Yami…of course…" Reona had replied, not really listening. "So, how long had you known Mr Moto?" She made small talk as they waited for Yugi and his crowd to show up.

"Oh I don't know…five years or so…" Yami replied, not really sure of what to say. "We used to be very close but I haven't seen much of him since he got famous."

"Ah, I see." Reona replied looking down at a clipboard that she was holding, "Well, it's nice to meet one of Mr Moto's friends, he doesn't seem to keep many these days." Yami nodded politely and pondered on that statement for a moment. However he was knocked out of his thoughts when the doors to the room opened again and a crowd flowed in. In front there was the head photographer then behind him a string of people and in the centre, Yugi. As they walked they adjusted the young game star's hair, his clothes or some of the minor makeup that he was wearing. Yugi looked totally trapped and once again Yami's heart went out to him.

The photo shoot was mercifully short and Yugi was freed within two hours.

"Just in time for lunch!" Yugi had chirped, genuinely happy that he could grab a few minutes of free time. They'd rushed to the car and had been at the little restaurant that Yugi had picked out within the hour. "You'll love it," Yugi grinned, "Really, when I'm out of Domino I miss this place." For a moment Yami had gotten a sinking feeling. The last place that Yugi had invited Yami to had been the club and he _never_ wanted to go there again. However Yami had been pleasantly surprised. Thursday's was a small but chic sushi bar with a view out over the city and Yami had, as Yugi had said he would, liked it.

"This place is nice." Yami had smiled, making conversation. For now it seemed the old Yugi was back and he was happy to keep that illusion alive for as long as he could.

"Yes, I found it within my first few weeks of success," Yugi smiled and picked a plate off the conveyer belt that the sushi was going around on. "I brought Joey, Tristan and Tea to celebrate. Tristan found out that he's allergic to squid, the look on his face was classic." Yugi smiled and Yami's heart clenched. He had to talk to Yugi about what was depressing him so much. Just looking at him now and how he had been last night only deepened the contrast between Yugi's two drifting sides.

"Yugi…?" Yami asked quietly, laying down his chopsticks gently.

"Yes?" The teen replied, turning to Yami so as to pay more attention.

"I…there's something I need to talk to you about…" Yami paused to stir up his courage.

"Yes…what is it?" Yugi asked, though secretly his heart was clenching angrily. He knew what Yami was about to ask him and if his ex-darkness really did cross that line and ask about his feelings he wasn't sure that he'd be able to restrain himself anymore.

"I…Yugi…last night…why…?"

"Why what?" Yugi replied, dodging around the question and gritting his teeth.

"Why did you do that to yourself?" Yami pushed a little further.

"You mean I'm not allowed a little fun now and then?" Yugi asked, trying to make light, but somewhere inside of him his mental walls were falling. "I work hard you know."

"I know…" Yami jumped in, "But…that wasn't fun Yugi…"

"That's a matter of opinion, I'm sorry if you didn't like it, I won't take you again." Yugi covered. It was then that Yami started to get annoyed.

"Enough." He said more sternly and with less concern. "I know what you're doing Yugi and I won't let you. I know you think that no one can see it but I can. I won't let you do this to yourself. I can't bear to see you drink yourself into oblivion like you did last night. I like you when you are like this, not like that."

"Well if you can't like me for who I am…"

"That's not who you are!"

"…Then perhaps you should never have come back!" Suddenly there was silence, Yami could only sit, stunned. It was the smaller of the two who broke the silence. "What, do you think that I wouldn't have changed?" Yugi growled, "Are you that self-important?! I've had to change Yami, I've grown up since then, get over it." Yugi started to stand but Yami firmly clamped a hand onto his shoulder, pushing him back down into his seat.

"Yugi, you haven't grown up, if anything you're getting more naïve. Escaping your problems like you did last night is not only stupid but also dangerous. Talk to me, I want to help you!" Yami paused and looked imploringly at Yugi, but the star looked away from him. "You're killing yourself I can see it! I want you to stop please, I won't loose you Yugi!" At that Yugi snapped his head around. His eyes were hot with anger and his face was like thunder. Yami had never seen him this angry and was a little taken a-back. Yugi stood and flung Yami's hand from his shoulder.

"Do you ever think I was your's to loose?!" Yugi raged. "When you left I was wrecked Yami! You went off to paradise and left me in the hell you found me in! Now you've come back and expect me to be the same? Well guess what, I can't be Yami; I can't ever be the same again because these days I have to be both of us. No-one can be as innocent as I was and survive in the world Yami." Yugi paused and lowered his voice a little, "You say I'm killing myself. Maybe I am, but at least I lived a little longer than I would have done. If I hadn't become what I am now I would have died the moment you stepped through those doors. You left me." Slowly Yugi leant in to whisper in Yami's ear, "If you think you're with a monster then take a good look. You created it." And with that Yugi threw a few notes onto the bar and turned on his heel, leaving Yami sat on his barstool looking not only lost but totally devastated. Was it true? Was he responsible for what Yugi had become? If he was could he ever forgive himself? More importantly, would Yugi ever forgive him? Slowly Yami stood and made his way to the door of the restaurant. His feet felt heavy but his conscience was heavier.

Reviwer's Section

**Cactus Bob:** Avast, Sam, I be back! Sorry for keeping you waiting and thanks for your concern /_eats some grapes_/! I'm glad that you're excited, I love new Yugi, he's so volitile and messed up!! As to replying to your reviews, it's a pleasure! I love getting them so it's the least that I can do (I've never thought of your guys as fans...meep! That's daunting lol!) Yes, keeping characters in..err...character...is hard by I try my very best, if I'm good job then it's an added bonus! Now, to the main event. Food!! Coffee-Cake-Cup-Cakes huh? Sounds good enough to eat lol! Say hello to your Mum for me and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Magic Noise:** First off, cool user name! Secondly I hope this chapter was as good as you were hoping it would be! As to Yami, he'll be coming into his own in a few chapters (when Yugi manages to land himself in trouble again!) Nice to see Yami fans around, this kind of story seems to mainly attract Yugi fans so it's really great to have you around! Thanks for reviewing!

**Masami Mistress of Fire: **Oops...so I didn't update 'soon' can you forgive me/_Puppy dog eyes_/? I really hope you liked this chapter! It only gets better from here on in (in my opinion!) so I hope to hear from you again later on!!

**Spicey Babe:** Sorry for not updating very fast! But here is the update you asked for, I hope that you like it!!

**Coco Gash Niccals: **Quick! CPR I'm trained in first aid /_Shoves Zane aside and then looks at Gash's tongue hanging out of her mouth_/ ah...on second thoughts...you get right in there Zane m'boy/_Shoves him forward_/ And where's Yugi anyways? Anyone noticed that he's missing?

**Arion Girl:** Ah, so you like drunken Yugi do you?! In a weird kind of way, me too!! I just love messing about with Yami and Yugi's pre-established characters, so much fun! Too bad about your asthma by the way and thanks for your concern, I'm feeling quite a bit better now (hence the update) I hope you enjoyed it!

**InsaneYGOlover:** Oops, looks like Yami and Yugi's relationship is on the rocks (fret not though! It won't stay like that forever!) I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reviewing, hope to hear from you again!!

**Yami Yuugi:** I'm glad you like Yugi! Poor dear, having to fight within himself over Yami. Things are never straight forward in his life are they lol. Hear from you again soon and hope this chapter was to your liking!!

**Mika Sorano: **If you arn't into 'punkish' Yugi then fret not, he will be phasing out over the next chapters. Being like that is Yugi's way of putting on a brave face to the world. Without Yami Yugi was forced to change to be darker otherwise the world would eat him alive. Now that Yami's back Yugi internally argues with himself as to whether or not he can trust Yami enough to drop his act when he knows that Yami will have to leave him again. I'm sure Yugi will come around in the end...

**Lord of Night of No Moon:** Theorising already are we? I like that in readers, a little thinking ahead never hurt anyone eh? Glad you like the story and hope you continue to read it!

**dragonlady222: **Yes, Yugi is acting quite a lot like Kaiba (may I add that is highly perceptive of you!) The similarities between the two will become even more evident when we see them together in a chapter. Yugi's acting out is a way of, as you said, making sure no-one can hurt him. Underneath all of that he is highly vulnerable. At the moment Yami just thinks Yugi's being a jerk, but I reckon he'll come around in about oh...two chapters...

**cheekyeyes:** Ah, worry not about Yugi (for further hints read some of the other review responses!) he's still in there! Don't worry about missing stuff either, I've been doing that a lot lately and so I guess we're even.

**Psycho Kage Suma:** Ah, very perceptive! Yes, something did happen to Yugi! In fact lots of things did. But as to what those are you will just have to sit tight and wait to find out! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and sorry for being slow!

**Yami Val: **Yami does have his shadow magic but it is unfortunately limited to his area of expertise aka games. A lot of people write Yami as simply being able to 'send people to the shadow realm' but actually there is little to no evidence of him being able to do this in either the manga or the anime, so I've elected to steer clear of that. if he can get someone to play a game with him then he's in his element, but until then his hands are tied. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and stick around for future ones!!

**Azurelle: **Lol, another Yami fan girl! (Am also one!) As to Yugi's fans...well...ah...that's what they are...fans. Poor Yugi (the boy not the dog!) On the subject of Yugi, I'm glad that you like Yugi's newly aquired spine, that won't be going away any time soon! As to the blushing, innocent boy that Yugi once was...well I can't say that he's gone for good...but, as you said, Yugi isn't opening up without a fight.

**Yai Kuu: **Good, I'm glad you want to read more, and I am only too happy to provide! So read and be merry lol!

**beetelgirl: **Here's the update, hope you like it!

**Flame Body:** Thanks for your concern and if you couldn't wait, here it is! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick around for the many more to come!!

**DragonWarrior135:** Thanks for your message and for your understanding, I feel bad if I don't post something up for you guys though. I know how it feels to be left hanging on a story!

**Lil-Lady-Light: **Mmm...YGO bishies.../_huggles an embarrassed ryou under one arm and a murderous looking Bakura under the other_/ I really have to write a fic with those guys in some time...Do I sense a Christmas special lol?! Anyways...thank you for the gift/_Huggles atemu toy_/ I'll hug him and squeeze him and call him george! I hope you liked this chapter and continue reading!

**Sphymx: **Ah but Yami has changed, his personality shift is more subtle than Yugi's though so it is kind of cast into the proverbial shadows. Watch out for it though, the changes will make an appearance at a very critical juncture later on! Thank you for your concerns, I'm feeling much better now and thanks for reviewing. I hope you liked this chapter and continue to read on in the future!

**A 4ever shadow 4ever: **Thanks, I feel much better now! I really hope you enjoy this chapter and the ones to come!

Phew...lots of reviews today! Probably indicates that I should update more often lol. Anyways, a big thanks to all of you for responding! I've never had this many reviews and I'm genuinely moved by your response to the chapters! I'm glad you are all liking this so far and I only hope I can carry on keeping you all happy! Best wishes and Christmas wishes to those of you who celebrate it!

Trikki

Chapter 4- Death for Breakfast (Preview)

Riukura never knew what hit her. It was two in the morning and her shift was, thankfully, coming to an end. It was a good job too; she had to take her son to preschool the next day at seven and if she didn't catch some sleep soon she'd be sure to crash on the way. Yumura had said she was on her way down to the reception desk in the lobby in order to start her shift, but she was, so far, ten minutes late. Riukura sighed as she heard the hotel doors swing open and felt a breeze come through. No doubt more customers wanting a room for the night. Taking in a deep breath she stirred herself to be polite and bright.

"Good morning and welcome to…" However she was cut off when she found herself looking down a gun barrel. Immediately panic seized her. Would she ever see her son again? What was she supposed to do in a situation like this?

"Get on the computer," A gruff voice commanded her from behind the gun. She immediately nodded and tapped in her login name and password, urging the computer to hurry up. Finally it was finished and she looked up again, as if asking what next. "What room is Yugi Moto in?" The man asked again. Riukura nodded again and tapped in the name. So, they were here for the game star, it made sense. If she hadn't been so terrified she might have lied and told them the wrong room but unfortunately she hadn't.

"124." She replied, her voice shaking. The man said nothing and instead nodded to the other three men with him who immediately began making their way to the room. The other man stayed behind for a moment. The moment it took to shut Riukura up. Permanently.


	6. Death for Breakfast

**Author's Note: **Another chapter! Yay! Sorry it's been so long, I really am trying and you'll all be happy to know that my writting is back up to speed now! After I've re-built my chapter buffer chapters should be up much faster!! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a happy New Years! Everyone get nice presents? I got some Japanese mangas so I'm happy, there's nothing like foreign books to help you get better at a language! Anyone else speak/read/write Japanese? I just realised I never asked before! Anyways I'm blabbing a bit! Here's the next chapter folks!

**Warnings: **Violence, allusions to murder (if you arn't good with implications it'll go straight over your head...or at least some of it will!) oh and there's a touch of shameless fluff as well, but not a lot!

Chapter 4- Death for Breakfast

The room was too small. Desperately Yami brought a hand to his collar and pulled it away from his neck in order to let a little cold air in. The walls seemed to be closing in and the air was getting hotter and hotter.

"Give up yet?" A voice whispered from somewhere and Yami snapped his head around to see who it was, but there was no one there.

"Who are you?!" Yami cried out, "Let me out!" The walls were closing in, like being buried alive. "Please, let me out!" All pomp and ceremony was gone, he was a Pharaoh no more, now he was simply a scared teenage boy. "Let me go!"

"Feeling trapped enough yet?" The voice whispered again, sounding vaguely amused.

"What? Please, help me whoever you are!" Yami cried out again.

"Welcome to my world." The voice laughed again.

"Help me!" Yami screamed, but it was too late, the walls were crushing him now and the heat was unbearable. He was dying.

----

Yami sat bolt upright in the hotel bed. Sweat poured down his bare chest and he couldn't stop himself from shaking. The nightmare had been horrific and he was well and truly shaken from it. What did it mean? Welcome to my world? Yami shook his head and stepped out of bed, heading for the bathroom connected to his room. For tonight he was glad that his room was separate to Yugi's. After their argument at the sushi bar Yugi had basically had his ex-darkness removed from his sight. Yami hadn't seen Yugi since then and had spent most of the day with Reona asking where Yugi was. Eventually Reona had caved,

"He doesn't want to see you." She replied sounding sorry. "He asked me to keep you busy." Yami had been quiet after that. Yugi's actions had hurt but he wasn't going to be swayed that easily. The whole reason he had come back from the afterlife was to save Yugi and even if he didn't like him anymore that was exactly what he was going to do.

A few splashes of cold water on his face had helped Yami calm down. It was all just a nightmare. The dream and his current situation, but it was fine for now, more could have gone wrong than it did. But of course by definition as soon as he had thought that, things immediately took a turn for the worse.

------

Riukura never knew what hit her. It was two in the morning and her shift was, thankfully, coming to an end. It was a good job too; she had to take her son to preschool the next day at seven and if she didn't catch some sleep soon she'd be sure to crash on the way. Yumura had said she was on her way down to the reception desk in the lobby in order to start her shift, but she was, so far, ten minutes late. Riukura sighed as she heard the hotel doors swing open and felt a breeze come through. No doubt more customers wanting a room for the night. Taking in a deep breath she stirred herself to be polite and bright.

"Good morning and welcome to…" However she was cut off when she found herself looking down a gun barrel. Immediately panic seized her. Would she ever see her son again? What was she supposed to do in a situation like this?

"Get on the computer," A gruff voice commanded her from behind the gun. She immediately nodded and tapped in her login name and password, urging the computer to hurry up. Finally it was finished and she looked up again, as if asking what next. "What room is Yugi Moto in?" The man asked again. Riukura nodded again and tapped in the name. So, they were here for the game star, it made sense. If she hadn't been so terrified she might have lied and told them the wrong room but unfortunately she hadn't.

"124." She replied, her voice shaking. The man said nothing and instead nodded to the other three men with him who immediately began making their way to the room. The other man stayed behind for a moment. The moment it took to shut Riukura up. Permanently.

------

He was just getting back into bed when he heard it. From the room next door, a banging as if someone was trying to get out…or in…In a split second Yami was out of bed and running for the door. With a force fuelled by fear Yami flung open the door and took in the sight in front of him. There were four men trying to break down Yugi's door, two had guns. Immediately Yami's heart was racing, what was he supposed to do? He could only use his shadow powers on people if they lost in a game to him and it didn't look like these guys were up to play. However as soon as Yami's advantage had arrived it was gone.

"Hey!" One of the men yelled, "Who the hell are you?!" In a split second Yami found a gun trained on his naked chest. "You look kind of like him…"

"My name is Yami." Yami replied, fear building in his chest. So they were here for Yugi after all.

"I don't care!" Another of the men roared, "Get this door down now!" The other three immediately began again on the door and Yami bit his lip. There was little he could do, the corridor was straight and long, if he ran they'd just shoot him in the back, and he couldn't leave Yugi alone no matter how much he might have been tempted.

Moments later the door caved in, its security buckling under the supreme brute force. "Get in there!" The leader of the men yelled, raising his gun to the air and barging in himself. "And you," He nodded to another of the gang, "Get rid of that one, no witnesses." In seconds the other men were gone, just leaving Yami alone in the corridor. Time slowed. The thug smiled and brought up his gun in what felt like slow motion. Yami's heart stopped. What would happen if he died? Would he go back to the afterlife? Would he get a second chance? Or would his soul simply disappear now that he had already died once, arguably twice.

"Time to die wannabe." The man snorted horribly at his own joke.

But Yami was saved at the last moment. It was then that Alex and the bodyguards showed up, managing to disarm the man in the most brutal and lasting of manners. As soon as his life was no longer at risk Yami spun and ran into Yugi's room. Fear made his heart pick up speed alarmingly quickly. Was he too late? Would he find Yugi dead hanging from a bedpost or bleeding to death on the carpet? With that in mind Yami rushed into the sitting room part of the suite and glanced quickly around. But to his surprise neither Yugi nor the man were there. Fear rising further Yami darted into the bedroom. The lights were out and the bed four-poster bed was a mess, there was a chemical smell in the air and two dressing gowns were thrown on the floor just outside the bathroom, their chords missing. Yami's fear was critical now. There was no sign of his once soul partner and charge. It appeared that the men had simply disappeared. Adrenaline still high the Pharaoh sighed and was about to make his way to the bathroom when two figures suddenly jumped out of the shadows. Lucky for him they were the two that had been unarmed.

"Get him!" One of the yelled and in a flash they were charging toward him.

"Alex, Carl!!" Yami yelled out, dodging a blow. Perhaps as Pharaoh he would have been afraid to cry out for help, but Yugi has shown him this, a different kind of strength and now hopefully it was that which would serve Yugi through him. In a few seconds the bodyguards were back and the two men lay incapacitated on the floor.

"Where's Moto?" Alex asked Yami quickly,

"I didn't see him, but I didn't check the bathroom." Yami panted, adrenaline seeping from his system slowly. The bodyguards nodded and left quickly.

Once again all was quiet. Slowly the Pharaoh closed his eyes with a sigh. He had failed. Yugi was gone. He didn't know how, but he was gone. A light gust of wind brushed hair from Yami's eyes as they watered a little but it didn't help alleviate his guilt. How could he have failed so early in his mission. It was then that Yami noticed. The window on the other side of the room was open, wind billowing the curtains inwards. Seconds later it all happened. The shot and then the familiar scream.

"Yugi!" Yami cried out desperately, "Yugi are you alright?" There was no reply, Yami ran to the window and looked out onto the foot wide ledge. What he saw was a shock but at the same time a relief. Yugi was stood, rubbing his wrists and looking calmly out over the edge of the ledge to the ground a long way below. Yami's eyes widened slightly as he saw the smaller boy and then he regained his senses. "Are you ok?" Yami asked, genuinely concerned whilst climbing out of the window. "I heard a gun shot are you hurt?" Yugi seemed to pause for a desperately long time before he drew his eyes away from the drop below him and took a step back from the edge.

"Not right now." Yugi replied coolly.

"Are you sure, you don't even seemed scared or anything…" Yami tested, Yugi was entirely too calm for his liking.

"Am I meant to be scared?" Yugi asked with a dry smile, "Am I meant to run into your arms in floods of tears and thank you for your epic rescue?" 'Yes,' Yami mentally answered him but unfortunately he and Yugi no longer had that bond. "I think I'll pass on that one for now. Maybe later." All Yami could do was stand on the ledge and look stunned. He had just risked his life for his friend and then this was the reception? Had Yugi really changed that much? Taking in a deep breath Yami climbed back through the window into the hotel room. Yugi followed him through.

"I…I was worried about you Yugi." Yami said quietly, just above a whisper. "I thought he'd killed you." Silence reigned for a seeming eternity. Yugi ran a hand threw his hair and moved over to close the window, his back to the Pharaoh. He was so angry with Yami. For putting him in debt like this and for simply coming back and making him like him again. He didn't want to like Yami! Yami had deserted him all those years ago, Yami had taken his fragile soul and ripped it into little pieces, Yami had driven him into hell and now he was trying to be salvation. But Yugi wasn't about to buy it. Yami would leave him again. And once again Yugi would be broken beyond repair. He wouldn't fall for that one again.

With a shallow breath Yugi turned and looked Yami straight in the eye. He wanted this to do maximum damage. "He almost did. So much for protection _mou hitori no boku_." Yami winced at the comment. The words had come from Yugi's lips like poison, scathingly, mocking him. No, not just him, their friendship; their existence as soul partners, their eternal bond. Yami bit his tongue. He would never, ever have imagined Yugi saying something like that a few years ago. That had done it. This was no longer about saving a friend, no longer about souls or eternity. Now Yami was simply saving a life. It could have been anybody's. The old Yugi was dead to him.

"What did you do?" Yami asked finally, swallowing his hurt. "Where is the other man?"

"He fell for my money like everyone else around me." Yugi didn't turn around from the window, instead looking out over the lit city.

"Stop playing games Yugi!" Yami snapped, "What happened!"

"I heard the banging." Yugi said quietly, and Yami was a touch taken a-back that he hadn't snapped at him. "It woke me up. I opened the window, took the dressing gown chords out of the dressing gowns and then they were here." Yami's eyes widened a touch but he said nothing. "They tied my hands but they had no route to escape by. By opening the window I gave them a place to hide me in the meantime and they took the bait. One took me outside whilst the others intended to overwhelm the security when they came to find me and then go out the way they'd come. While I was outside I tied my hands to the building when the man was watching you and the other two men and then I tested the knots." Yugi paused to flick some hair from his face. "When the bodyguards came in and the man saw that his defence had been eliminated he pulled his gun. Unfortunately he hadn't thought ahead and I had. I have to admit I cut it a little close before kicking him but, who's to complain, I'm not the one that's dead." Yami's eyed darkened as Yugi finished his explanation.

"He's dead?"

"Unless he can survive a fall from the 14th floor onto concrete without a parachute, then yes, he's dead." For a moment Yami just stood and stared at Yugi's back. How could he be so calm?! A man had just tried to kill him; he'd been captured and watched a man fall to his death.

"How are you so calm?" Yami voiced his thoughts, "Yugi you were nearly killed and you watched a man die!"

"Actually," Yugi replied quietly, "You could interpret it that I killed him." Yami was stunned for a second. He hadn't thought about it that way but now that Yugi mentioned it…"I was, after all, the one who kicked him." The silence stretched out. "Oh well," the ex-hikari whispered at last, his voice flooded with irony, "I figure I'll burn in hell anyway." Shocked from his paralysis Yami made his way over to his ex-hikari and spun him around to look at him. Yugi made no resistance and Yami got his answer. Yugi's eyes were dead. There was no sorrow, no fear, no sadness, no shock or anger there. Just…nothing.

"Yugi…" Yami whispered horrified by the raw reality of what had become of his friend. All anger evaporated. Yugi hadn't been underestimating when he had said he'd been living in hell.

"I think it's time you went back to bed Yami." Yugi replied, cutting him off. "It's been a long day for both of us. I'm sure we need time to reflect." With that Yugi shrugged off Yami's hand and turned back to the window, making it very clear that the conversation was over. Yami blanched and shook his head sadly before leaving.

"You can't keep me shut out forever Yugi." Yami whispered, hoping that the teen would come to his senses. "But I promise that I'll wait that long."

"Goodnight Yami." Yugi replied. Ironic considering how bad the night really had been.

-------

The breakfast bar served six different types of breakfasts. Cereal, English, continental, Japanese, the list went on. Each breakfast had a selection inside of it too. For an English breakfast you could have bacon, sausage, egg but not cheese or croissants. For a continental you could have egg, cheese, croissants but not bacon or sausage. In short, Yami was completely flummoxed. It was Reona who finally saved him. With a yawn and a roll of sleepy eyes the personal assistant made her way over to Yami to help him out.

"What did you order?" She yawned again. After all, after the security breech almost all of the staff had been woken up.

"I…don't know." Yami replied, "I don't remember ordering anything…" Reona nodded.

"Mr Moto must have ordered on your behalf." She figured out, "Wait here I'll ask." With that Reona made her way over to a hotel staff member, leaving Yami stood at the breakfast bar once again. So, Mr Moto had thought ahead had he? Was this a way of saying sorry? Yami could only hope so, though he doubted it.

"Right, he's got you something special." Reona explained, coming back over, "It isn't on the bar so you'll have to wait a moment." Yami nodded slowly though he was a little suspicious. However he was pleasantly surprised when he was presented with an Egyptian accented breakfast. Sweet dates, fresh bread and cold milk. A grin traced Yami's face as he tucked in. It made him feel at home where he had been a bit up in the air over the last few days. But why suddenly this grand gesture? Yugi had been so angry with him lately, was this actually a white flag in disguise? If so, why? He had failed Yugi last night and now he was rewarded? Shaking his head as if to shake away the questions Yami carried on eating his breakfast, however when the last question began to skitter away he stopped. Where was Yugi anyway?

-----

"I heard the noise and I knew that it was probably someone coming for me," Yugi told the police officer for the third time that morning. "So I made provisions. It wouldn't be the first time I've been in that sort of situation." The policeman nodded.

"And you pushed…"

"Kicked." Yugi corrected.

"Kicked, him off the building?" The officer asked for the fourth time.

"What else was I supposed to do? Let him shoot me?" Yugi sighed and sipped from a glass of water that had become his breakfast.

"How do I know that he was armed?"

"Have you checked the body? Also I have at least six witnesses who can vouch for hearing the gunshot. You can check the building as well if you like, there's a bullet scar on the iron I was tied to, approximately five inches away from where my head was." Yugi sighed again and finished his 'breakfast'. "For the last time sir, I was dragged onto the ledge, tied myself to the building for safety, he pulled out the gun, I didn't feel like an autumn funeral, I kicked him, his aim moved, he shot the wall, he then lost his balance and met with an unfortunate and I believe highly blunt and messy end." The policeman wrote down some more things quickly.

"Alright, last question sir." He said at last, "Your story doesn't add up as far as time is concerned. We've interviewed your security services and checked the CCTV tapes. You were in the hotel room with those three men a lot longer than you allow for in your story. What really happened?" Yugi sucked in a breath, his cool momentarily shattered. "The truth, Mr Moto."

"They tied me up, I told you already." Yugi replied, his eyes once again emptying of their masking arrogance.

"How long does it take to tie someone up Mr Moto? A few seconds? They were in there for almost two minutes."

"They tied me up. That's it." Yugi replied again firmly.

"Fine. So at what point did the vase shatter?" Yugi's eyes widened, he'd forgotten that. "I'm not stupid sir."

"Fine, they threw me around a little and then tied me up. Better?" Yugi was angry now, this man didn't know what he was dealing with.

"If that is the case then how come you are not sporting any injuries? If what you say is true then you would have some form of bruising or something." Yugi sighed and pulled up the sweatbands that he had put on on purpose that morning. There were circular bruises around each wrist and one even looked a little sprained.

"Proof enough?" He asked, slipping the bands back down without wincing.

"No, there was blood on those vase fragments sir." The officer insisted. With an impatient sigh Yugi pulled off the shirt he was wearing to expose his back, there were a few angry looking red scratches down his back each stretching about a foot.

"Are we clear now?" Yugi asked.

"Yes sir, there will be no trouble proving that this was an accident." He stood up and began to leave, "But we may need to come back and take photographs of your injuries sir." Yugi nodded but didn't move. The policeman left, now he had to deal with the murder at reception.

Yami chose that moment to walk in. The sight he saw made his heart sting a bit. Yugi was sat shirtless, head in hands, the picture of desolation, the scratches standing out clearly against pale and clammy skin. "Yugi?" Yami asked at last, walking to sit opposite Yugi in the chair the policeman had just been in. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Yugi replied bluntly, quickly pulling on a shirt.

"I enjoyed my breakfast." Yami tested the waters.

"I'm glad." The teen replied. Yami sighed; obviously Yugi didn't want to talk. Slowly he rose and began to leave the room. But before he managed to leave he was stopped. "Wait!" Yugi cried out and there was tinge of desperation in his voice. Yami turned slowly and saw the same desperation echoed in his friend's eyes and with it was a burning loneliness. "Please, stay and…talk to me…"

Yugi prayed that Yami wouldn't question his motives or snap back at him. He couldn't bear that, he already secretly felt awful. He was breaking all of the rules that he had made to protect himself. He didn't get close to anyone. He had sent Tea away to America, Joey to the duel academy, Tristan to college, Ryou to the game shop; all to protect himself from ever getting hurt again and yet here he was courting the ultimate danger. Yami. Ever since Yami had arrived he'd been trying to protect himself from he old friend's caring, kind attitude. He didn't want that anymore, because he knew eventually Yami would leave him again and he couldn't take that a second time. It would kill him. But at the same time he craved time with Yami, he craved the looks of those caring crimson eyes, he craved the soft encouragements of that strong voice. All things he couldn't have but was indulging in anyway. Signing his own death warrant with every moment they spent together.

Yami nodded slowly and walked back, his heart lifted. So Yugi did want to talk to him! Or at least he wanted to listen to him talk, but that was ok for Yami, it was progress, however small. Yugi was letting him in again.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Yami asked, sitting down opposite Yugi again with a smile on his face. Yugi looked down,

"Anything." He replied quietly.

"Alright, we'll talk about when we met." Yugi raised his head slightly at that. "I remember when we met all those years ago. You had just completed the puzzle and you were afraid and alone. I was imprisoned and you freed me. You were surrounded by shadow monsters, let loose by my own release and…"

"And you saved me." Yugi finished quietly, ignoring the side comment in his mind that argued that he had also damned him later.

"If you like." Yami replied with a kind smile, "We saved each other a lot though. You saved me from the orichalcoas, you saved me from my own darkness." Yami sighed a touch and sat back in his chair, "You were scared of me then, do you remember?" Yugi nodded and a small smile appeared on his lips, "I'm not surprised, I was selfish and power hungry. I get scared of myself sometimes." Yami whispered conspiratorially.

"Really?" Yugi asked, suddenly sitting up. Yami was a bit stunned by Yugi's sudden response.

"Yes…when I look at the darkness in me. It is still there you know."

"Right." Yugi replied, obviously thinking deeply about it. "Thank you." He finished. Yami nodded, understanding that the conversation was over.

"Any time." He smiled and stood, "Any time for you."

**Reviewer's Section**

**Hitokiro-san: **I'm glad you liked Yami and Yugi's little spat there lol, fun to write I have to say! As to the bodyguards, yes they are pretty harsh but to some extent with good reason...a little more of that will become clearer later! Alex is a bully though. Lastly, yes Yami has let his mind wander a little recently, bless his heart he doesn't really know what's happening to him lol. If you like moments with a bit of Yami/Yugi there's a slightly steamy bit in chapter 5, but I want to develop their relationship naturally. I can't stand stories where they suddenly jump on each other for no apparant reason lol. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!!

**Arion Girl: **Will I be messing around with Yami and Yugi more...? Of course! There are lots of oppertunities to mess around with them in lots of different ways! Who is threatening Yugi (mental messing)? What will they do to Yugi (physical messing)? What's happening to Yami, is he really developing a crush (sexuality messing)? Oh the fun lol! See you next chapter I hope!

**Blue Bull: **No way!! Seriously?! It's you! I love your stories XD! Thanks for reviewing, I'm really glad that you like it! As to Yugi's decision making skills that is because although he acts big in reality (as you will have seen reading this chapter) he is extremely vulnerable, more so than ever. Anyway, thanks for reviewing (again) and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

**dragonlady222: **Is Yami afraid of Yugi now...afraid is kind of the wrong word, he can't settle around this 'new' Yugi because he can't predict him. The old Yugi was really predictable but this Yugi seems totally spontaneous and works in a way that Yami can't understand. Yami can't decide if he likes Yugi anymore because he sees some aspects of the hikari he knew in this new Yugi but at the same time he sees some things that he really hates. Now to Alex! This bloke had better never show himself in public around you lot, he doesn't seem very popular lol! Yes, he needs to loose his job, but I'll give you a hint, he isn't going to any time soon.

**InsaneYGOlover: **Ah ha, Yami was there to protect Yugi wasn't he...wasn't he? Perhaps not quite what you were looking for but I wanted to demonstrate the extent of Yugi's new found independence in a context where Yami could also reassume his old role and see his own redundancy. If you're looking for a touch of Yami-heroism there'll be a fair few buckets of that later on! Thanks for reviewing and hope you liked the chapter!

**Cactus Bob:** I'm just glad you found me! I was worried about changing to 'M' because I knew it would affect some people's story alerts. Do you think I should send messages to everyone on my alert list for this story? Don't want to loose any readers now do I! As to people who check up for me on the 'Just In' page, there isn't much I can really do I guess. This is getting to the point where it needs to be an 'M'. Anyways, how are you?! Get anything nice for Christams?

**Lord of Night of No Moon:** I can't give away who is right to be honest as that would pan out too much of the story. But I'll let you know that they can't both be right. Does Yugi really need Yami? Or is Yami redundant these days? We shall see! Insightful comment though! Congrats!

**1992nauro:** Yes I did make Yugi talk to Yami that way! And you know what?! It was seriously fun!!! I'm glad you liked it, there will be a bit more of that in later circumstances. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

**Yami Yuugi: **And just when you though Yugi's character was set in stone he flips lol! Glad you liked the last chapter, it's my personal favourite so far (though 5 is also pretty good!)

**Adisca: **Thank you! I'm glad you like my stories and I'm glad you're enjoying 'Stalemate' so far! Thanks for your review and I hope you continue to read this story! It's only getting better lol!

**Sphymx:** Go to the top of the class! Yes, Yugi's starstruck life style is exactly like Yami's Pharaonic lifestyle! That is a comparison that I will be drawing on quite heavily later. Smart thinking there, I am actually really impressed! As to the plot, thank you very much! It was something that I thought of after watching the last episode and found actually to be very undone in the fanfiction world. I could hardly find any fics on Yugi's life after Yami...any good ones anyways! Thanks for reading and try not to think too much in future or you might work out my whole plot and I wouldn't want that lol! ;)

Once again a big thanks to everyone who reviewed! It is the thought of your lot that motivates me to sit down at my computer at absurd hours of the day and write about our favourite spikey haired couple, without you I might have thrown in the towel when I got ill. So thank you all and I hope that I can continue to please you all with what I write well into the future!

Trikki


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